A Champion's New Hope
by Rocag
Summary: Beginning during the Goblet of Fire, Harry looks to different friends for support after both Ron and Hermione refuse to believe that he did not put his name in the Goblet. Including one unexpected friend: Daphne Greengrass.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Summary: This starts off during the Goblet of Fire, with two changes in the initial conditions. First, Hermione doesn't believe Harry when he tells her that he did not put his name in the Goblet. And second, Harry has an odd sort of friendship with Daphne Greengrass which has slowly grown since a chance meeting in their first year. Flashbacks will explain that a little more throughout the story. Enjoy.

* * *

As the sun began to set over Hogwarts, its most famous student was sitting outside by the shore of the lake contemplating the events of the previous few days. 'Well, this year has gone downhill a little earlier than normal,' Harry Potter thought with a sad smile.

The previous night his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire, despite the fact that he had never put it in. Thinking about the Weasley twins' unsuccessful attempt to enter the contest he wondered how such a thing was even possible. As bad as that night had been, today was even worse. No one, not even his best friends Ron and Hermione, believed him when he insisted that he had not put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Neville seemed to be the closest to believing him, and that was only because he responded with a confused look and a shrug saying "I don't know, Harry". A huge screaming match had broken out at lunch when Harry tried to talk to Ron and convince him to see it from his point of view, and as a result he doubted that he would be on speaking terms with his alleged 'best mate' for quite some time. That had also cost his house 20 points, courtesy of Professor Snape. Hermione didn't scream at him, but let it be plainly known that she didn't believe him either and was upset with him for breaking the rules so blatantly. So Harry was out here, trying to avoid them and rest of his classmates. But the sound of footsteps approaching told him that not everyone was trying to avoid him.

"Hello Potter" said a some what emotionless voice that was still quite pretty. Harry looked up from his thoughts to see Daphne Greengrass. At first he was a little surprised by her sudden appearance, but after a moment's thought realized it was entirely typical of their previous interactions with each other. Harry didn't think they were friends exactly, but it seemed like once every few months they would find themselves in long intense conversations, typically about the dangerous circumstances that Harry constantly found himself in. Other conversations were about her frustrations with the expectations placed on her as a member of one of the "elite pureblood families". It was odd in that there was usually very little small talk and at other times they barely even acknowledged each other. Harry reasoned that they were both amused about the secret "friendship" between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Not even Ron and Hermione were aware that Harry had ever talked to Daphne outside of class.

"Hello Greengrass."

As Daphne sat down on the shore a few feet from him, Harry took the opportunity to really look at her again. She had grown up quite a bit from the first time the spoke during the winter break of their first year. Harry knew the blond haired Slytherin had a reputation for not only being one of the most beautiful girls in the school but also as unapproachable. She had few friends and didn't seem interested in making any more, another one of the reasons that Harry was intrigued by their odd friendship. For a few minutes neither of them spoke, but simply turned and watched the lake. Finally, Daphne broke the silence.

"Well Potter, I'm waiting." she said, looking at Harry expectantly.

"Waiting for what?" Harry answered with a confused look on his face.

"For you to tell me that you didn't put your name in the Goblet of Fire." she answered simply.

"But I didn't! Why won't anyone believe me?" Harry said loudly.

"Calm down. I believe you, Potter. Putting your name in the goblet like that just isn't your style. Now if you believed that doing something so reckless and stupid might help out those ignorant friends of yours, then I believe you would do it without hesitation. But for fame? No, that just isn't you." Daphne explained. Harry let out a sigh, happy that someone had finally believed him. "So I take it you can't just refuse to compete can you?"

"No, apparently the fact that I didn't put my name in doesn't matter. It is still a magically binding contract, and the penalty for breaking it would apparently be severe." Daphne nodded at his response, having expected it. Anyone who broke a contract like that would likely end up dead, or if they were really lucky they would spend the rest of their life as a squib.

"Well then I guess you compete. Did they tell you anything about what the tasks are going to be?"

"Not a thing. I will probably just end up hoping to luck my way out of another bad situation. Seems to be my lot in life." Harry answered with a small laugh. Daphne caught the genuine laugh at the end of his statement, realizing that his depressed mood was starting to lift a little. "Do you know what pisses me off the most about this though? That my two 'best friends' don't believe me. What's wrong with them? I mean, you figured it out and I would think that by now they would know me better than you. No offense to you, of course."

"None taken. They will probably come around eventually. Well, Granger will at least. Weasley strikes me as a jealous idiot so I wouldn't hold my breath on that one."

"I don't think I am going to worry about it. I just have too much else to think about right now. Like how in the hell I am going to get through three tasks set up to test the skills of wizards three years older than me."

Daphne nodded her head in agreement with his decision. "A wise choice, Potter. I knew you had it in you. Any idea how you are going to prepare?"

"It would be a whole lot easier if I knew what I was preparing for. I guess I will just start going through the defense and charms books for this year and the next few, trying to learn all the spells I can so that the other might not have too much of an advantage." Harry said with a sigh.

"I'm a little bit surprised you hadn't done that already. Don't give me that 'what are you talking about' look, you know exactly what I mean. You've somehow managed to get yourself into life threatening situations every single year that we've been here. I swear Potter, don't make me be the only one trying to keep you alive." Daphne answered with a smile and a small shake of her head.

Harry laughed and said "Yes but if you didn't that would mean there wasn't anyone in Gryffindor worth talking to, wouldn't it?"

"Too true." she said, softly laughing with him. And for a few minutes they just sat there silently, each enjoying the other's company while staring out over the Black Lake as the sun finally set. Eventually, Daphne turned back to him and said "It is getting dark, I'm going to head in. What about you?" she asked as she stood up and brushed the dirt off of her school robes.

"I think I will sit out here for a few more minutes."

"Suit yourself." Daphne responded as she turned to walk away.

"Hey, Greengrass." Harry said prompting Daphne to turn back towards him. "Thanks. I guess I needed someone to knock some sense into me." Daphne smiled at his thanks and answered, "Your welcome." Harry watched her take a few steps back towards the castle before she stopped and turned around again looking like there was something she wanted to say.

"You know, if you want some help preparing for the tournament I will be around." Daphne said with an uncertain look on her face.

"I'll remember that. Whatever it is I'll be doing, I would appreciate the help." Harry said with a grin on his face. Daphne didn't answer, just nodded in acceptance and continued walking back to the castle. Harry watched her go, feeling as if her offer of help had really been an offer of friendship. And he was glad to have at least one friend who wanted to be around him.

* * *

That night Harry's dreams were thankfully not about a large old house containing Wormtail and Voldemort, but were instead about the first time Harry had truly met Daphne. The dream started with an eleven year old Harry staring at the Mirror of Erised. He had sat there looking at it for hours, trying to figure out what it all meant. Eventually Dumbledore had found him staring at the mirror and ended his obsession with it, but that night still lay in the future during this memory. Finally deciding it was time for him to get back to his room, young Harry picked himself up and walked out the door. He was so lost in his own thoughts he never stopped to put his invisibility cloak back on or to make sure no one was watching him.

"You've been looking at the mirror all night, haven't you?" a voice softly spoke from the shadows, startling Harry. His first instinct was to run, but he doubted the person meant him any actual harm and he was already caught anyway. So he walked towards where the voice had come from and found a girl he recognized as a first year Slytherin sitting on a bench watching him. He tried to recall her name, but could not.

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter." he finally answered.

"I know. I'm Daphne Greengrass, and you didn't answer my question." she reminded him.

"You already know I've been looking at the mirror. You've tried it too, haven't you? What did you see?" asked Harry excitedly.

"That's an extremely personal question to ask someone you just met." Seeing his confused face, Daphne asked "You do know what the mirror does, don't you? It shows you what you want the most, so basically you just asked me what do I want more than anything else in the world." Harry seemed to think about this for a few moments, and then nodded in agreement.

"I see my parents." Daphne sighed at Harry's willingness to give up extremely personal information. Very un-Slytherin. "But something has been bothering me. I can't remember what they look like and I've never seen a picture of them, so I wonder if that is what they actually look like or is it just my imagination." Harry sat down on the bench next to Daphne, obviously this question had been annoying him for quite some time.

"I don't know, but if I had to guess I would say that they probably looked like what you see in the mirror. Even if you can't really remember them, I am sure the knowledge is still somewhere in your head. The mirror has to be reading your mind somehow to know what you want, right?" she reasoned.

"I guess so. I always knew that what I was seeing wasn't real, but it just feels hard to look away, you know?" Harry said.

"Yes, I do. I'm not going to tell anyone that you've been looking at the mirror this whole time, but I am not going to look at it anymore and if you know what's good for you you won't either. It's like looking at the mirror is addicting, and the more you do it the more you want it." Harry knew she was right, but also knew that he would most likely be back the next night if for nothing more than a peak. But he promised himself that he would use it less, now worried that the mirror might be some type of evil artifact. Part of his mind argued that the mirror didn't feel evil and there was certainly nothing evil about the images it showed, but the worry remained. Trying to shake that thought, his attention turned towards the pretty girl sitting next to him. He knew next to nothing about her, other than the fact that she was in Slytherin and they had a few classes together.

"I'm surprised you're even bothering to talk to me about this, me being a Gryffindor and you a Slytherin. Aren't you guys supposed to hate our guts?" he asked a little bit sarcastically.

"I don't care too much for the house rivalry nonsense. Seems like a big waste of time. Sure, I'll cheer for Slytherin during Quidditch but that's as far as I am willing to go. But don't you change Potter, watching you and Weasley's little feud against Malfoy is very entertaining." Daphne laughed as she said. Harry shrugged his shoulders at that, wondering if the rest of the school felt that way about him and Draco. The blond little punk just brought out the worst in him.

"Glad you're enjoying the show, I guess." Harry answered. "Although, the best entertainment still comes from the Weasley twins."

"Don't remind me." Daphne groaned. "In November they somehow managed to turn my hair bright blue. Allegedly a third year girl in my house was the intended target and I just got in the way. They apologized, but ran off before I could demand they turn it back. It lasted two whole days!" Harry laughed, that sounded like something they would do. He wondered briefly if he would have made friends with Daphne if he had been sorted into Slytherin like the Sorting Hat wanted. He didn't remember her hanging out with Malfoy's group of friends, so that was definitely a point in her favor. Eventually he decided that it would indeed have been possible, one thing of many that would have been different if he had not become a Gryffindor.

A few minutes later Harry yawned and said "It's late, I'm going to bed now. It was nice talking to you."

"Good night, Potter." she told him as he got up and started walking back towards his room while she continued sitting on the bench. Watching as the dream ended, Harry noted that Daphne had never called him Harry. It was always Potter. And he had taken her lead and always called her Greengrass. 'Strange...' he thought as his sleep cycle shifted and his memories of first year slipped from his consciousness.

* * *

The next morning Harry was up early, hoping that he could make it to breakfast and finish before Ron made it there. The night before Ron had made sure that Harry overheard all of the insults and accusations he had made about Harry while talking to Seamus during a game of chess. Harry had eventually gotten so frustrated with Ron's behavior that he slammed his book shut and hastily walked out of the common room towards their dorms and was in bed with the curtains drawn by the time Ron finally made it back to the room an hour later. Harry also wasn't particularly happy with Hermione, who had witnessed the entire scene and yet had said nothing about it. She just sat there pretending to read with an odd expression on her face. He had expected her to say something, anything, but in the end she had just tried to act like there was nothing out of the ordinary going on.

Harry got to the Great Hall early enough to be one of the first people there. The only other Gryffindors there were a small group of seventh years frantically going over notes for an up coming test. Harry had heard talk about how difficult the NEWT year was, and for a moment was thankful that he was not in their place. Then he chuckled, remembering just what his current situation was. Making his way to a seat towards the middle of the long table, Harry sat down and began his breakfast. About ten minutes later Harry noticed Neville coming into the Great Hall and smiled when he sat down at the table across from him.

"Good morning, Harry." Neville said casually as he began to eat. Harry dropped his fork and stared at him in confusion. Just yesterday Neville had been one of the people not sure what to think about Harry and his place in the Triwizard Tournament.

"Neville, do you still think I put my name in the Goblet of Fire?" Harry asked.

"You've always been nice to me, Harry. And I don't think you have ever lied to me, so if you say you didn't do it I believe you. I'm just sorry it took me so long to see it that way." Neville answered. Harry's smile got a lot bigger when he heard this, now thankful that he had a few friends who believed him.

"Thank you, Neville. That really means a lot to me." Harry responded sincerely. Neville just grinned at him as an answer and went back to eating his breakfast. When they started talking again the topics were of the normal sort that Harry had missed for the past two days: complaining about evil professors (like Snape, obviously), worrying about schoolwork, and Neville excitedly explaining a Herbology project he was working on for extra credit. Harry wasn't quite sure why Neville wanted extra credit in Herbology, he had the best grade in their entire year in that subject. Better even than Hermione's, whom seemed to have a perfect grasp of the theory but trouble working with the actual plants. Their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of an argument coming from the entrance to the Great Hall. Harry looked over to see Ron and Hermione practically yelling at each other, although it was hard to figure out what exactly they were fighting about. As they got closer it became clear that each one was blaming the other for making them late for breakfast. Harry laughed at the thought that in a small way it was his fault. He was usually the one to make sure Ron woke up on time and got Hermione to stop studying for the days classes so that they would be able to eat without being rushed. Harry took their entrance as a sign that it was time for him to leave, which he did after a quick good bye to Neville.

Thankfully neither of them saw Harry as he made his way out of the Great Hall and down towards the dungeon where his first class of the day, Potions, would be held. 'At least there is one thing around here I can count on,' Harry thought with a sarcastic grin, 'Snape's undying hatred for me. Yay.'

* * *

The next few days passed rather uneventfully. Other than Malfoy's random insults, the only person to really talk to Harry was Neville. Harry supposed he should be more upset than he was, but he had been an outcast at Hogwart's before and found it hard to care about the opinions of such fickle people. Once that week, he had passed Daphne in the hallway and she had sent a small smile his way. In his spare time he had taken to spending hours in the library looking for new spells and ways to make up for his youth and inexperience during the tournament. He had occasionally seen Hermione studying in the library, but he made no attempt to approach her and repair their battered friendship. She made no effort either, other than sending sad looks his way. Harry had decided he had done nothing wrong, and therefore the responsibility for making the first move towards fixing things should be made by one of them. The rest of his free time was spent in an empty and seemingly long abandoned classroom he had found on the third floor, not far from where the three headed dog had been kept in his first year. Here he could practice the spells he had taken notes on in the library without worrying about other people watching him. After a few days of this Harry was already able to perform almost all of the spells from this year's books in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Transfigurations. He was confident that by sometime in the next week he would be able to start fifth year spells.

After a long night of practice, Harry made his way back to the Gryffindor common room, exhausted from the several hours of practice he had put himself through. His private training was going much better than he had expected it to. Despite his only slightly above average grades Harry had noticed that he was almost always one of the first people in his classes to master a new spell. The problem was that his excellence in the practical portion of the classes was negated by his subpar performance in the theoretical parts. Harry knew he wasn't stupid, he just didn't put forth the effort to do the written assignments that he should have. Part of him wanted to blame Ron (who was even lazier than he was) for that, but was aware that in the end it was his responsibility. Harry made a vow to himself to try harder from now on, because he knew that his life rested in his own hands and he needed to be prepared. He was so engrossed in these thoughts and his desire to crawl into bed and stay there for the next week or so that he didn't even hear his name being called until it was repeated, this time a little louder.

"Harry!" It was Ron, sitting on one of the large, comfortable chairs in front of the fireplace in the common room. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Harry just stood there staring at him for a few seconds. 'Could Ron really be about to apologize for his behavior? Before even Hermione?' he thought. Harry nodded his head and walked over, sitting down in another chair near Ron's. Harry waited for his estranged friend to start while Ron looked nervous and uncomfortable, trying to figure out exactly what he was going to say.

"Listen mate, I know we got into a big fight about the Goblet of Fire but I was hoping we could put that behind us. You should see how unhappy Hermione's been. But I guess what I really meant to say was..."

'Here it comes,' Harry thought, 'Ron is actually going to apologize for one of his mistakes. Wow.'

"...I forgive you." Ron stated simply, as if that was what Harry should have been expecting to hear.

"You what?!" Harry yelled in shock.

"I forgive you." Ron answered, seemingly oblivious to Harry's rising anger. "I was mad that you found a way to put your name in the cup and didn't tell us. Then even more when you wouldn't just admit it to us, but I get it now. You're better off if you can convince people that you didn't break the rules." Harry stared at Ron, trying to convince himself not to curse Ron for his stupidity. Through it all, Ron grinned in the belief that he had done the right thing.

"Ron, I'm not going to tell you again. I did not put my name in the Goblet of Fire. I do not want to be in this tournament, and if they would let me quit I would in a heartbeat. I have been honest with you about this entire thing, and I have no reason to apologize. You are the one that should be asking for forgiveness." Harry said, raising his voice just a little.

"You are such a bloody liar!" Ron spat back. "We all know what you did, there is no use in denying it! You should have at least told your best friend how you did it, maybe I could have tried to enter too. But no, you've got to have it all for yourself, don't you? And here I was, trying to be the better man about the whole thing and you just throw it back in my face. Screw you, Harry!" With that Ron stormed off from the common room and into the bedroom, slamming the door as he went. Harry watched him go, wondering if he had just witnessed the end of his friendship with Ron Weasley. Even if not, he realized, they could never go back to the friendship they had before. That bridge had been burnt to a crisp. Having no desire to follow Ron up to the room, Harry moved to a couch and laid down deciding to nap for a bit and wait for Ron to fall asleep before he went to bed. Soon his tiredness won out over his anger and Harry drifted off to sleep. When morning came hours later and the earliest risers started waking they found him still asleep on the couch. Most of them just thought it was odd, but some of those that knew him better wondered what was wrong with Harry Potter.

* * *

The following days proceeded much like those before them, with the exception of Ron being even more of an ass than he had ever been. Harry thought Hermione still looked sad whenever she would sneak a glance at him. All of Gryffindor had become tired of the non-stop fights going on between Hermione and Ron. It seemed that without Harry there to act as a buffer between their personalities they clashed constantly. Harry thought the situation was a little sad, but he was glad that it gave the Gryffindors something to talk about other than him. The rest of the school still considered him to be the best topic for conversation however, although the glares that so many of them shot his way were easily ignored. Harry laughed at the fact that he had never seen the Hufflepuff's, Cedric Diggory's house, so angry.

Harry continued to train and within a week he had made it through almost half of the fifth year spells. Every night he pushed himself and his magic as hard as he could for as long as he could until he reached the point where he thought he would faint from exhaustion. With every passing day Harry felt himself getting stronger and able to put more power behind his spells. He had never read anything on the theory behind how a person's magical strength is determined, but he guessed that it must be something like physical strength. Only in this case instead of running or lifting weights to build muscle mass he was casting powerful spells to increase his available power. He enjoyed the feeling that his new found strength gave him, and on some level he finally understood why someone could become obsessed with gaining more.

His nervousness about the first task was seemingly always present. Harry had heard that people had died in the Triwizard Tournament before and he knew that he was already starting out with a disadvantage. Frequently he wished that he could just walk away from the tournament but he knew that was impossible. Another, smaller, part of him was actually quite excited about the tournament. Harry had always loved a challenge, especially when it was something he was not expected to do well in. That was part of the initial reason he adored Quidditch. He still enjoyed the sport, but was starting to realize that he liked the flying much more than the game itself. On days when he needed a break from his training he took his Firebolt to the unused Quidditch pitch and flew, letting the wind crash into him and for a moment forgetting all of his troubles. He supposed that if things were different he would have spent time with his friends, talking and laughing as his worries faded away. But without them, he needed something else.

Today was one of Harry's flying days. The first task was a mere ten days away at this point the stress from the anticipation was starting to get to him. One of his favorite stress relievers was to fly high up into the air before diving straight down, going as fast and as close to the ground as he could before pulling up. On this occasion he took the time to stop at the top of his ascent and take a good look at Hogwarts, the place that he felt more at home at than anywhere else. The castle was easily visible, as were the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest. However, Hagrid's home looked tiny from this high up. It was then that he noticed something new off in the distance. From this far off it appeared to be a quarry of some kind. 'Do they have mines at Hogwarts?' Harry wondered. Deciding to get a closer look, he sped off towards the structure.

The first thing he noticed as he got closer was the stands that were in the process of being built. They looked a lot like the ones surrounding the Quidditch pitch he had just left. The stands looked large enough to hold everyone in the school and then some.

"Of course! This is where the first task is going to be!" Harry said to himself. Then, realizing that as a Triwizard Champion he probably wasn't supposed to be here, he cast disillusionment charms on himself and his Firebolt so that he would hopefully not be noticed. The protection the charms provided was good enough for now, but he found himself wishing he had his invisibility cloak with him. Satisfied that he was as hidden as he could be, Harry flew closer to the arena as he now thought of it and tried to figure out what was going on. What he had thought was a mine or quarry was actually a huge stone pit. The bottom part was fairly level, except with the middle section raised a few feet. One side of the arena had a less severe slope, with a path leading up to a large tent. Harry took one last look at the pit and decided to inspect the tent, hoping that he would be able to find out more about the first task. His hopes were answered when he noticed a small group of people coming out of the tent and walking down to the arena. Harry recognized the person at the front of the group to be Ludo Bagman, head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

"Now, if you'll all follow me I will show you where our four champions will face their first challenge!" Bagman said as the group followed him down the path to the arena. Harry flew nearby, close enough so that he could hear every word being spoken. "Now, I'm not supposed to be telling anyone the details about the first task. But we're all friends here, no? I'm sure you can all keep a secret." Harry almost fell off his broom in shock at his good luck. The rest of the group also seemed interested, and gathered in closer to Bagman who looked quite pleased to be the center of attention. "As we speak, four dragons are being brought to Hogwart's. One for each of our champions!"

"Ludo! You can't seriously expect children to slay a dragon!" one member of the group yelled. Harry had to agree with him, he knew that bringing down a dragon was difficult for a group of fully trained wizards, let alone one teenager who would have had no idea what he was facing.

"No, no, not to worry." Bagman assured them. "They will not have to kill the beast, just to recover a golden egg that the dragon will be guarding. A clue pertaining to the second task will be placed in the egg. Each contest will be judged on if they were able to retrieve the egg, how long it took, and how they did it." Excited murmurs broke out from the crowd. Meanwhile, Harry looked back out towards the arena. He now realized what he had mistaken for a quarry was actually a man made dragon's nest. He had never seen a real one before so he had no idea on whether or not it was accurate, but he assumed so. The group of people continued down to the nest, clearly excited about the tournament. Harry followed them, hoping to gather more helpful information about the tournament but Bagman did not seem willing to talk about the other tasks.

"Alright everyone, let's head back to the tent where dinner shall be served. You will all have the chance to see this again, I promise. I have arranged for the Department to provide each of you with front row seats!" Bagman proclaimed to the delight of the group. Harry doubted that he could sneak into the tent unnoticed, even with the disillusionment charms, and that he might as well head back to the castle. As he flew back, Harry thought about the challenge to come.

'Dragons! They expect me to fight off a dragon long enough to steal something from its nest. How in the hell am I going to do that' he thought. 'I'm going to have to call in help getting ready for this one I guess.' he finally decided. Smiling, he wondered if Daphne had any idea what she was getting herself into when she offered to help him.


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

Harry made his way into the Great Hall for dinner with a smile on his face. Although the idea of fighting a dragon was not very appealing, just knowing what to expect made him feel a lot better about his chances of surviving at least the first third of the tournament. Plus, he still had a little more than a week to figure out what he was going to do. He decided to spend the rest of his night in the library trying to find out how to attack a dragon, and hopefully by tomorrow he could have someone else thinking about the challenge as well.

Dinner was already half way over by the time Harry noticed an empty seat across from Neville and sat down. As he began to eat he noticed Ron, who was sitting at the other end of the table, get up and walk out of the Hall after glaring at Harry for a few moments. He didn't mind, and in fact was happy Ron had not decided to make a scene during dinner. Meanwhile, Neville had stopped eating and was looking at Harry with a curious look on his face.

"What's got you so happy, Harry?" Neville asked. Harry thought about what he should tell his friend, and Neville truly was a friend. Harry regretted the three years in which he had known Neville and not let him get as close as he allowed Ron and Hermione. Harry wondered how much he should tell him and how much he should keep to himself. While he didn't want anyone to find about his advantage, he knew a little extra help couldn't hurt. And maybe he had been underestimating Neville all of these years.

"Neville, you can keep a secret can't you?"

"Of course, Harry."

"OK. I know what the first task is going to be." Harry said prompting a shocked reaction from Neville. Harry leaned in a little closer and whispered "Dragons."

"Seriously? Wow, that is going to be tough."

"Yeah. You don't happen to know an easy way to bring one down, do you?"

Neville laughed and answered "No, I don't think there is an easy way. Gran took me to a dragon preserve once on vacation and we saw the dragon handlers trying to get one into a cage. It took ten wizards a half hour to do it." Harry frowned, clearly this was going to be even more difficult than he had anticipated.

"Well, I don't have to cage one or even kill it. I just have to take something from its nest."

"You don't really think that is going to be easier, do you? Dragons are very protective of their nests, Harry. You really don't want to fight one head on. Maybe you could try distracting it somehow, and then get to the nest while the dragon is gone." Harry nodded at the idea, it was one he had been considering.

"But how do you distract a dragon?" Harry wondered.

"I dunno, but they've got to be scared of something right?"

"I guess. I'm heading to the library after this, hopefully I can find some way to get their attention."

"Do you want some help?" Neville offered. "I'm caught up on my homework, and I would probably just end up playing exploding snap in the common room the rest of the night otherwise."

"Thanks Neville, that would be great."

"No problem. I..." Neville stopped what he was saying and looked up. "Harry, Hermione's headed this way." Harry turned around and sure enough, his bushy haired old friend was headed directly towards them. He tried to keep a neutral expression on his face while she sat down at the table next to him. Neville, having watched how the three 'friends' had acted around each other since Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire, eyed Hermione with suspicion.

"Hi, Harry." she said quietly.

"Hello Hermione. Is there something I can do for you?" Harry asked, causing Hermione to frown.

"I don't want to fight anymore, Harry. I want things to go back to the way they were."

"We're hardly fighting Hermione. In fact, this is the first time you've talked to me in almost two weeks. So what has changed? Did you finally realize that I have been telling the truth this whole time?" Harry retorted.

"I don't know. I want to believe you, but Harry I saw how excited you got when they announced the tournament and I know how competitive you can be."

"Sure I was excited, but so was the rest of the school!"

"Hermione," Neville spoke up for the first time, "I thought Harry was supposed to be your best friend. I trust him to be honest, why don't you?" Harry and Hermione were both a little shocked by this statement, as neither of them had ever heard Neville speaking so strongly in defense of anyone before. Harry smiled, Neville was a better friend than he had given him credit for.

"Neville, this is between Harry and I. Please let us..."

"No, Hermione." Harry said, cutting her off. "It's a good question."

"It's not that I don't trust you, I just thought that there was more going on here than you've told us. I guess you could be right. Just let me think about it, ok?" Hermione asked. Harry merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Hermione, I think I have already lost Ron's friendship. I hope I don't lose yours, but I haven't done anything wrong here."

"Surely things with Ron can't be that bad." Hermione said, not responding to the rest of Harry's statement. "You two can patch things up, right?"

"I don't think he wants to. I know you have seen how he has treated me the last two weeks. In fact, I had hoped you would say something about it."

"I thought that if I got involved I would make the situation worse. I didn't want to take a side if that meant the three of us wouldn't be friends anymore."

"Things can't just go back to the way they were, Hermione. Everything has changed. I don't want to lose you, but I can't force you to see it my way. Just think about it. I'll see you later." Harry pushed his chair back and with a nod to Neville left the Great Hall leaving Hermione and Neville alone. Hermione sat thinking, obviously on the verge of crying. Neville looked at her, wondering what her reaction would be. He had already chosen his side, and in retrospect it wasn't a hard choice at all. Harry had always treated him as a friend. He had the feeling that Ron, on the other hand, was only nice to him because of Harry.

"Hermione, Harry seems to really care about you and I know you care about him. He probably should be angrier with you than he is. For both of your sakes, I hope you don't drag this on too much longer." Neville quietly gathered his things and got up from the table to follow Harry to the library.

As he left, Hermione finally started to cry. She wished she could find some way to mend all of the broken friendships between herself, Ron, and Harry. Harry didn't seem to think it was possible, and Ron had given no indication he was interested in doing so. 'How did things get so messed up?' she asked herself as she tried leave the Great Hall before anyone could see her crying. She didn't notice, however, that two tables over a certain blond Slytherin had been watching the entire scene since Hermione came in with more interest than anyone would have expected. Daphne sighed, hoping her Gryffindor friend could make it out of this situation without being hurt too badly.

* * *

"Settle down and get your seats. Weasley! Ten points from Gryffindor for being unprepared." The Gryffindors in the class groaned as Professor Snape docked more points from their house, like he did in every class. Most of them had learned by now not to fight it, losing points was inevitable in this class. Ron Weasley, however, seemed to have missed that memo.

"But that's not fair! Look at Malfoy, he has less of his stuff out than me!" Ron argued. And it was true, Draco wasn't even at his table and all of his potions supplies were still put up. Not that it mattered to Professor Snape.

"Ten more points from Gryffindor for talking back to a teacher. I suggest you be quiet unless you wish to spend tonight in detention." Ron finally seemed to get the hint and sat down, clearly still angry about losing twenty points. Harry and Neville watched from their table at the other side of the room, each happy that Snape had not picked them to pick on today.

"For the next two weeks you will be split into pairs to work on a new assignment. Each pair will be given the ingredients for a type of poison, but not the name of the poison or instructions on how to brew it. You and your partners must not only identify the poison and brew it successfully, but must also determine the antidote and brew that as well. The poisons I have picked for you may be obscure, so I do not expect any of you to be successful." Snape explained. "Ever since the delegations from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived the Headmaster has become obsessed with increasing cooperation amongst young wizards and witches. Therefore, he has requested that any class grops consist of students from different houses. The pairs for this assignment will all have one student from Slytherin, and one from Gryffindor."

All of the students groaned at this announcement, while Professor Snape just looked mildly amused at their unhappiness.

"All of the pairs have been randomly picked. When I call your names come to the front of the room, pick up your ingredients list, and find a table to sit at with your new partner. I suggest you use today's class to determine what poison you have been assigned." With that he began to call out names. Neville was paired with Blaise Zabini, Hermione with Vincent Crabbe, and to Harry's amusement Ron was partnered with Draco Malfoy. Harry felt relieved, he didn't want to work with the blond idiot either.

"Daphne Greengrass... and Harry Potter." Professor Snape finally called out. Harry looked over at Daphne who had an exaggerated look of disgust on her face, but when she looked at Harry he saw a small smile that was quickly hidden. They both walked up to the front to receive their list of ingredients, but when they turned to find a desk Snape stopped them. "Ms Greengrass, let me assure you that you will not be punished for your partner's ignorance."

"Thank you Professor, I had feared my grade for this assignment would be unusually low." Daphne said as she glared at Harry. Harry spotted an empty table towards the back of the room and motioned for Daphne to follow towards it. When they finally sat down Harry heard his partner start to laugh quietly.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked her.

"Sorry Potter, but look at it from my side. Professor Snape just promised me a better grade than our project deserves, what was I supposed to do? Say, 'No thanks sir, I don't want the free points'?"

Harry nodded, knowing she had a good point. "Well I'm glad it worked out like this anyway. I was trying to find a way to talk to you, and this just made it a lot easier."

"Is this about my offer a few weeks ago?" she asked, speaking in whispers so that they would not be overheard.

"Yes. I know what the first task is going to be. I probably shouldn't say much more here, but why don't we meet tonight in the library after dinner to work on this assignment. Then I can explain about the tournament and show you what I've been working on."

"Sounds interesting, just what have you been doing these past few weeks?"

"You'll see, I promise." Harry answered. Daphne realized she wouldn't be able to get anymore information out of Harry until later and decided to start working on their potions project. An hour later when the class ended none of the groups had been able to find a potion which contained their ingredients in the fourth year potions book. 'I should have known that Snape wouldn't make the assignment that easy.' Harry thought.

"Alright Potter, I'll see you in the library after dinner. Don't be late." Daphne said in her most intimidating tone of voice. Harry was laughing on the inside, knowing that she was just trying to keep up appearances. Harry thought this game was pretty funny as well.

"Fine Greengrass. Try not to get lost." Harry said in an equally harsh voice. Daphne huffed at him, turned away, and walked out the door without speaking another word. They somehow both managed to hold in their laughter.

* * *

Harry rushed into the library and began looking for Daphne. Off to one side he saw Hermione, who had not noticed him coming in. She didn't seem to notice Viktor Krum staring at her from a few tables over, either. Harry shrugged it off, deciding it was really none of his business. He was about to start looking down the aisles when he heard someone calling his name,

"Potter! Over here." Daphne was sitting at a table in the corner that was surrounded on three sides by bookshelves. It would make a good place for them to be able to talk and not be overheard. Harry set down his bag and sat down at the table. "So what took you so long? I've been here for fifteen minutes and you left dinner before I did."

"Sorry, I got stopped by Professor Moody."

"Ah. I think that weirdo has been hit with a few too many curses."

"Maybe. He kept asking what I was doing to prepare for the tournament."

"And what did you tell him?" Daphne asked, interested in how Harry would deal with the curious professor.

"Not much, I didn't want him to know that I know what the first task is."

"I'll make a Slytherin out of you yet, Potter." she laughed.

"So, how much of the project do you want to do tonight?" Harry asked, changing topics.

"Let's at least find the name of our poison and how to make it. Once we do that we should easily be able to find the antidote."

"What makes you think that?"

"I owled home today and asked my father to send his copy of '1001 Poisons and Their Antidotes'. Apparently the Hogwarts library doesn't carry it because it is a 'dark' book. Useful is more like it."

"So we could just wait and find our potion then, too."

"Quit being lazy. Here, look through this for our potion." she said as she tossed a book his way. Harry grumbled, but obliged. A half hour later their efforts were rewarded. "Hey, I think this is it!" Harry said excitedly as he passed the book to Daphne.

"The Draught of Everlasting Night…" she read, "… will blind anyone who ingests it. After approximately 48 hours the effect will become permanent if the antidote has not been taken."

"And all of the instructions we will need to make it are here, too. Let's copy this down and then get out of here." Daphne nodded in agreement and began writing down the instructions while Harry copied the notes on the potion's effects and other properties.

Another fifteen minutes and they were walking out the door, headed for the third floor classroom where Harry had been training himself for the last few weeks. Once inside Harry cast locking charms on the door and silencing charms on the room to prevent people from listening. He had known basic versions of the charms even before he began training, but the versions he was now using were far more advanced. Daphne noticed.

"Nice, Potter. I'm surprised you know those. They are sixth year spells aren't they?"

"Yes. So far I am about a third of the way through the sixth year books for Defense, Charms, and Transfiguration. I have been studying those three almost nonstop since that day we talked by the lake."

"So that's what you've been doing, learning more spells?"

"Well, that and trying to make myself stronger. I figured out if I push myself really hard that after I've been able to rest I feel stronger than I did before." Daphne looked a little confused by this statement.

"Potter, what do you mean? How much magic are you using to do that?"

"Generally I just use the most powerful spells I know for as long as I can until I don't have the energy to do them any more. By the time I'm done it takes all the concentration I've got to cast a simple Lumos."

"You really shouldn't be doing that. It takes days to recover from magical exhaustion like you are talking about, and I don't know what is going on but doing that to yourself is not supposed make you stronger. Something else must be happening here."

"It doesn't take days. After a good night of sleep and a big breakfast I feel ready to do it again."

"Still, it just isn't possible that beating yourself up every night is going to make you stronger. You could actually be doing real damage to your magic." Daphne responded with a still slightly confused look on her face.

"I don't think so, but I will stop until I've had a chance to look into it a little more. Good enough?" Daphne nodded in agreement. "Now, about the first task. I have to get past a dragon and steal a golden egg from its nest."

"Hmm, I guess you've already looked up spells that are useful against dragons?"

"There are a few that might work. Their eyes are weaker than the rest of their bodies, so it might be possible for me to blind it and get to the egg that way. Neville and I have been trying to find something that might distract it."

"Longbottom?" she asked skeptically.

"He's a lot smarter than people give him credit for. Apparently wolves sometimes attack dragon nests and try and steal the eggs, so dragons naturally hate them. I've been working on transfiguring a rock into a wolf."

"Can you do it?" she asked.

"Not as good as I would like, but it will be ready in time. So far the best plan I have come up with is to transfigure a couple of wolves, fire my best spells at the dragon, and hope I can grab the egg in the confusion."

"Risky, but it could work. I'll think about it, maybe I can come up with something you hadn't considered." As Daphne concentrated on the problem Harry focused on his new friend. He knew she was very smart, but unlike Hermione her first reaction would not be to surround herself in books and hope the answer to a problem could be that way. Harry realized that he enjoyed having a Slytherin point of view around and wondered, not for the first time, why the bitter rivalry between their two houses had been allowed to continue. It also angered him that they both felt the need to hide their friendship. People like Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley would never leave them alone if they knew.

"Do you think I should tell Cedric Diggory about the dragons?" Harry asked, breaking the silence which had overtaken the room for the past few minutes.

"That depends." Daphne answered. "Are you merely trying to survive this tournament, or do you want to win it?" Harry paused to consider that question for a moment, taking out his wand and staring at it as if it knew what he should say.

"At first, I was shocked about being forced into this tournament. When I realized there was no backing out I felt overwhelmed and a little scared, but now I think I may have a shot to do well here." He answered, finally looking up at Daphne with a smile. "I want to win." Daphne grinned back at Harry and found herself fighting off the strange urge to hug him.

"I was hoping you would say that. In that case, don't tell Diggory. Never give up an advantage over the competition if you don't have to. We'll find a way to beat your dragon." she said confidently.

"I wasn't so sure before, but I believe we will. Now, let me show you those spells I was working on…"

For the next hour Harry demonstrated for her all of the spells he hoped would help him against the dragon. Daphne was impressed not just by the number of spells he used, but by the power with which he was able to cast them. Clearly he was strong for his age, his ability to successfully produce a patronus had proved that to her, but she found herself wondering just how powerful her friend really was.

* * *

The next morning Harry received a letter during breakfast from an owl he did not recognize. Seeing that the letter was signed 'Padfoot' he quickly hid it and shooed the owl away. Harry looked around, trying to determine if anyone had noticed his letter, but most of them were busy receiving their own mail. Excusing himself, Harry left the Great Hall to go back to his room and read the letter.

_Harry,_

_Be in the Gryffindor common room tonight at 11 PM._

_Make sure you're alone._

_-Padfoot_

Harry grinned happily; he was excited to talk to his godfather again and wondered what kind of advice he might have. He spent the rest of the day impatiently watching the clock, wishing he could make time move a little faster. After dinner he trained as hard as ever, for the moment forgetting his promise to Daphne, hoping it would help him pass the time. Eventually Harry was exhausted and it was almost 11, so he made his way back to the common room which was thankfully empty. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do if someone had been there. As the clock chimed, Harry wondered what exactly he was waiting for. His question was answered when the fireplace began to spark and a head came out of the fire.

"Sirius!"

"Hey kid. Sorry it took so long. I've wanted to talk to you for weeks, but I have to keep on the move."

"Don't worry about it, I understand."

"Harry, I have to know. Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No, I don't know how it happened."

"In that case you need to be very careful. Someone is trying to manipulate you or get you hurt. You need to be on the look out for anyone acting suspiciously. Get your friends to help."

Harry snorted at his godfather's comment. "If you mean Ron and Hermione, then I'm out of luck. They didn't believe me when I told them I didn't put my name in the cup."

"Fools! And Hermione had seemed so smart when we met."

"I still have a few friends, like Neville Longbottom, but most of the students think I am an attention seeking cheater."

"Longbottom? I knew his parents, good people. Now, about the tournament, what do you know?"

"I'm not supposed to know this, but the first task is dragons. I'm working on a plan."

"Good. Listen Harry, I have to go. The place I'm talking to you from isn't secure. Keep your friends close. Forgive Ron and Hermione if they deserve it, but be careful. I learned the hard way that a friend can betray you. Good night, Harry. I will stay in touch when possible.

"Good night, Sirius." With that the face in the fire disappeared, leaving Harry alone to think about the things his godfather had told him. Sirius was right; he needed to place more importance on finding out who entered him into the tournament. Who knows what else they might have planned for him. Harry yawned, decided to wait until tomorrow to start worrying, and went to bed.

* * *

"Potter, stay behind." Professor Moody commanded as the class let out. Harry sighed, wondering what was going on. When the last student had left, Moody sat down at his desk and motioned for Harry to take a nearby seat.

"So, what are you going to do about the first task?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"The dragon, boy! Hagrid showed you the dragons last night, did he not?"

"Professor, I really have no idea what you are talking about. I haven't talked to Hagrid in a few days."

"Hmm, he told me he got that Weasley boy to give you a note telling you to meet him last night. You didn't get the note, did you?"

"No. I'm not really surprised; Ron and I aren't exactly friendly right now." Harry explained.

"I see. Well, let me explain to you what you should have seen. You're going to have to get by a dragon and take something from it. So lad, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know sir." Harry answered, pretending that he had not spent weeks thinking about the problem.

"You have to play to your strengths. Like Quidditch, I hear you are good on a broom."

"That's true. But will I be allowed to bring my broom?"

"Of course not, but there is nothing in the rules that says you can't summon it. You know the Accio charm, don't you?"

Harry nodded and answered "Yes sir. I could do that." Privately, Harry was thinking that it was a great idea. On his broom he could move much faster, allowing him to get the egg easier. "Thank you, Professor. I'll keep thinking about it."

Professor Moody smiled oddly at him, before taking a flask out of his coat and gulping down its contents. Harry got his things and left, wondering why his professor was so interested in his plans for the tournament.

* * *

The first task was only two days away. Harry thought that with using Moody's idea to summon his Firebolt he had a better than average chance at completing the task. He was currently in the third floor classroom he had taken over practicing his summoning when he heard a knock on the door.

'I remembered to cast that silencing charm, didn't I?' Harry wondered. Checking again, he found the charm in place. So whoever it is must have known he was in the room. And the only person that knew he came here was…

"Hello Greengrass." Harry said as he opened the door for her. She came in with an excited look on her face.

"I've got an idea, Potter. It is going to sound crazy, but I think it is worth a try."

"Ok, what is it?" he asked.

"Let me explain. The wizarding world has a lot of stories that parents tell their children in order to teach them some moral or idea. Some of the 'darker' families, including mine, tell a collection of stories starring Salazar Slytherin which are supposed to teach proper behavior for a Slytherin. I'm guessing that you, a Gryffindor raised by muggles, haven't heard of them?"

"No. They sound like fairy tales though, are you sure these stories aren't just made up?"

"I pretty certain that they were just made up, but every story has a little bit of truth to it. And the story I am thinking of is called 'Salazar and the Dragon'."

Harry laughed, "So let me guess, it's story time now right?"

"Exactly. Now I'm not sure exactly how it goes, so I am just going to give you the basic story. One day Salazar Slytherin was chasing an enemy through the forest and stumbled onto a dragon. The dragon was going to attack him, but Slytherin managed to convince it that he meant her no harm. He warned the dragon that there was another wizard in the forest that would hurt her and her children. The dragon, thankful for the warning, let Slytherin go. A few hours later Slytherin found his enemy and realized he was heading towards the dragon, so Slytherin made no attempt to capture the enemy and let him face the dragon. When the dragon saw the other wizard she immediately killed him and fed his remains to her young."

"Well that was a gruesome story, but what is the point?" Harry interrupted.

"Quiet, I'm not done. Anyway, Slytherin made his way back to the village and told his cousin about what had happened. The cousin was jealous, and desired to have his own dragon to command. So he went into the forest, found the dragon, and ordered her to do his bidding. The dragon was offended by this and killed him as well. So what do you think?"

"You guys are raised with stories like this? What was that even supposed to teach?"

"Slytherin was smart and let the dragon take care of his enemy for him. Also, the cousin was stupid and disrespected a potential ally."

"Ok, but people can't talk to dragons. I've read a bunch of books by dragon handlers and none of them could do it."

"But you're forgetting Salazar Slytherin was a parseltongue. And that ability is hereditary, meaning that his cousin could have been one as well and that is why he was able to talk to the dragon. Parseltongues are very rare, so it isn't surprising that none of the dragon handling books would mention it." Daphne stated proudly.

"So you want me to talk a dragon into giving me an egg from its nest?"

"It's not a real egg." She pointed out.

"And this entire idea is based on children's story." Harry said, still wondering what to do with the idea.

"Yes, but what could it hurt to try? You already have a back up plan."

"Fine, I'll try it. But if the dragon bites my head off while I am trying to strike up a conversation I am going to haunt you."

"And Nearly Headless Nick would be so jealous that you get to go on the Headless Hunt. Where is the downside, Potter?"

Harry and Daphne both started laughing, and for a while Harry's worries about the tournament lifted and his thoughts were focused on how much he enjoyed the company of his new friend.

* * *

Author's note on characters and their personalities:

One of my goals with this story was to keep the characters close to how they are portrayed in the books, but allow them to change in reasonable ways which all link together. I see every small change in personality as either a direct or indirect result of Harry meeting Daphne in first year. For example, Daphne prevents Harry from taking Ron's point of view that all Slytherins are evil. Because of this, Harry is able to realize that the typically Slytherin traits of cunning and ambition aren't evil. The Sorting Hat had pretty much confirmed that Harry had the potential to have those traits in him from the beginning. So perhaps Harry has become a little more cunning than the books portray over the years. Hermione's out of character reaction to his name being pulled out of the Goblet of Fire could be a reaction to that small change. As for Ron, I assume that the fact that Hermione did believe Harry in the books introduced a little doubt into his mind regarding his accusations towards Harry. But in this case he sees Hermione's disbelief as confirming his suspicions and thus his reaction is a little more extreme. Neville seems braver in this story, but my point of view on his bravery is that it has to be brought out by his sense of loyalty and friendship. In other words he is willing to be brave for his friends, but reluctant to be brave for himself.

In any event, the main idea is that one small change in the past can cause large changes in the future. It's all different now, so let's see where it takes us.

And a special thank you to everyone who has given me encouragement, criticism, tips, and ideas for this. It makes me want to keep going.


	3. Chapter 3

The day of the first task had finally arrived. It started like most others, with Harry rising early in order to avoid his roommates. After completing his morning grooming rituals, Harry sat for almost ten minutes staring at the athletic robes he had been given to wear during the first challenge. They were a lot like his Quidditch robes, prompting him to remember that in any normal year he would be preparing to play Seeker for Gryffindor and only worrying about catching the snitch before the other team's seeker could. But this year, instead of facing rival seekers and incoming bludgers, he would be facing a fully grown dragon. All things considered, he'd much rather be playing Quidditch. Deciding he didn't have time to day dream, Harry pulled on his robes and walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. He knew that even more attention than usual would be on him today, but he hoped he could make it through the meal without any major distractions.

As Harry walked in the hall all conversation seemed to cease, and every head turned to look at him. 'I guess I should have known this was coming' he thought with a sigh. Seeing Neville already seated and eating a stack of pancakes, Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down across from him.

"Hey Neville."

"Morning. You ready for this, Harry?" his friend asked.

"As ready as I will ever be I suppose. I've got a plan A and a plan B, so I am more prepared for this than I have been for just about all of my previous adventures. I think I will make it through the day in one piece." Harry added with laugh.

"Huh? What's this plan B?"

"You'll see, I've got to keep a few surprises to myself. I wonder if the others know what is coming like I do."

"You said Professor Moody warned you, so obviously it isn't a very well kept secret. I am sure Karkaroff and Maxine found out and told their champions, and Moody probably would have said something to Cedric if he said something to you."

"You are probably right. There would almost have to be a system in place to make sure we are prepared, otherwise most of the champions would die."

"Plenty of people have died in this tournament before, Harry." Neville reminded him.

"Is that really what you want to be telling me right now?" Harry asked with a sarcastic grin.

"Oh man! I'm sorry, I didn't even think about how that sounded before I said it. I'm sure you will do great."

"Don't worry about it, I was only kidding around with you anyway. You know what this feels like to me? The morning of the first Quidditch match of the year. It's just about always against Slytherin, and so everyone is paying attention. Even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Every time I know that if we're going to win I have to catch the snitch, because our teams are usually close enough for it to come down to that. When I was younger that kind of pressure almost made me want to curl up into a ball and go back to bed, but something in me must have changed since then. Now I just feel excited, and I know that I won't calm down until they call my name and I go out there to compete. Does that make any sense to you?"

"Sure it does. I've heard lots or professional athletes talk like that. Did you ever think of playing Quidditch after you graduate? I bet you're good enough."

"We'll see." Harry answered, but he personally doubted that would happen. Quidditch was fun and challenging, but that alone would not be enough to keep him interested. His thoughts on the subject were completely interrupted when he felt a pair of arms swing around his body and pull him into a tight hug. He turned to see who it was and quickly decided he wasn't in any danger.

"Good morning, Hermione. It's nice to see you, too."

"Oh Harry, you're going to be careful aren't you? I should have been there with you, helping you get ready!" she sobbed as she hugged him tighter and cried into his shoulder.

"Hey, Hermione. It's ok, I'm going to be just fine." Harry said, trying to comfort her. He turned his head towards Neville and looked at his friend with a confused look on his face. Neville responded by shrugging and mouthing the words 'I have no idea' to him. "Come on, why don't we sit down and you can tell me what's on your mind." Hermione nodded in agreement and finally let go of her hold on him. As they sat down she tried wipe the tears out of her eyes with her sleeves.

"I had no right to doubt you, Harry. I've just been so scared of losing the only friendships I've ever had. But if I have to choose, I choose you Harry. Ron has been a real git, but I guess so have I."

"Just a little, Hermione." Harry said with a small smile.

"I know you said things can't be like they were before, but I hope you will be able to forgive me."

"Not today, maybe not even soon. But probably one day, yes." Harry assured her, which resulted in another hug.

"I'm worried about you, Harry. This tournament is so dangerous, you could get hurt!"

"Don't worry about it. I know exactly what I am doing. Just because I didn't have you around doesn't mean I haven't been preparing for this. That's just about all I have been doing since my name came out of that bloody cup. In fact, I even have a plan A and a plan B." Harry said proudly.

"You have a plan B? Who are you and what have you done with Harry Potter?" Hermione asked sarcastically. "Wait a minute, if you have a plan that means... you know what the first task is going to be!"

"Of course I do, but keep quiet about it. I don't want everyone to know."

"Well, what is it?" she asked excitedly.

"You can find out in a couple of hours along with the rest of Hogwarts." Hermione did not look happy with his decision, but knew better than to badger him about it. The rift in their friendship could not be healed in one sitting, and she decided she would much rather have her friend back than know what the first task was a few hours early.

"That's fine, Harry. I will still be there cheering for you."

"Did you hear that Neville, my cheering section just doubled in size!" Harry said with a laugh.

"Then I guess we will just have to be really loud." Neville responded.

"Good! I better go, I have to meet with guys in charge of the tournament before everything starts. I'll see you both after I finish up, ok?" His friends both nodded as he walked towards the exit. His eyes drifted over to the Slytherin table where he saw Daphne send a smile his way. Harry smiled back, and both of them thought of how annoying it was to have to hide the friendship that was quickly becoming the most important one they had. Daphne was glad that Hermione had decided to try and repair her broken friendship with Harry. She knew Harry would have been sad if that friendship had died. After all, she had seen him once before when he thought he had lost her...

* * *

_Two years earlier..._

Daphne walked into the hospital wing hoping to get some headache potion. She had just been cornered by Draco Malfoy who, after telling her that he had chosen her to be his girlfriend and that she should feel honored, had tried to kiss her. Daphne acted on instinct and headbutted the arrogant fool as he leaned his head towards her. He fell to the ground in shock, giving Daphne the opportunity to pull out her wand and stun him. She had left him laying unconscious on the cold stone floor near the entrance to the Slytherin dorms. Someone would eventually find him and wake him up, at which point he was going to be pissed. Daphne didn't worry too much about that, she was not afraid of him and if he tried anything else she was going to show him why. Painfully.

Her thoughts of revenge were interrupted when she noticed that she was not alone in the room. Harry Potter was sitting in a chair at the foot of a hospital bed towards the other end of the room. Hermione Granger lay petrified in the bed, the latest addition to Hogwart's odd collection of petrified students. Harry had not noticed her coming in and she considered leaving before he did notice her, but he looked like he needed someone to talk to.

"Are you ok, Potter?" she asked as his head jerked up in surprise. Eventually he shrugged and motioned for her to sit down.

"I'm fine, but Hermione isn't. Neither are all of the other kids who have been attacked. I wish I knew what to do."

"What is there for you to do? It's not your responsibility to be everyone's hero."

"Maybe not everyone, but I think I owe it to her."

"Ah, I see. I didn't know you two were together."

"What? No, it's nothing like that. Hermione is my best friend. I never had any friends before I came to Hogwarts, my stupid whale of a cousin made sure of that, so when I got here and met her and Ron it was just really nice to have people who cared about you. They are both like the family I never got to have. Seeing Hermione like this makes me feel bad, like I had let my sister get hurt or something." Harry said as he looked up at Daphne. She had reacted to his statement much stronger than he thought she would, to the point where he thought he saw tears welling up in her eyes. "Are you ok?"

"Fine, I just know exactly what you mean." she answered while wiping her eyes with her hand. "They are all going to be ok, Potter. As soon as the mandrakes have been harvested the potion to wake them up will be ready and you will have your friend back."

"You don't like Hermione very much, do you?" Daphne was surprised by his question, but decided to answer it anyway.

"I wouldn't say that I care enough to even dislike her, but no not really."

"Why not?" Harry asked, interested in how others saw his friend.

"It has nothing to do with her being a muggleborn, if that is what you are asking. It's more in her attitude. She tries so hard to prove that she is good little witch that sometimes she ends up putting down others who don't deserve it. I bet she treats you and Weasley like you would be incapable of studying or passing your classes without her."

"I wouldn't be that harsh on her... and she does try to get us to study when we would rather do other things." he said in defense of his friend.

"I thought so. It doesn't really matter anyway, who is going to notice if a Slytherin isn't the best of friends with a Gryffindor?"

"True. So what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Headache potion. Malfoy was being a prick so I headbutted him. I'm not bruising am I?" she asked as she pulled her hair away from her forehead. Harry grinned when he saw the red spot where their heads had connected. He also noticed, not for the first time, how pretty she was.

"It's a little red, but I think you are going to live." he pronounced.

"Well thank you, Healer Potter."

"Actually, I prefer Doctor Potter."

"You might as well be a muggle." she laughed with a small shake of her head. Harry had even broken out of his bad mood long enough to smile back at her. "I really do hope your friend gets better, Potter. Try not to worry so much." As she said this she stood up and began walking out of the room, completely forgetting the headache potion she had come for.

* * *

Harry was the first of the champions to make it to the tent next to the dragon's nest. Professor McGonagall had wished him luck and told him to wait for everyone else to arrive before leaving him to sit and review his plans. He felt confident that he would be able to grab the golden egg, but he was starting to have doubts about Daphne's plan. Even if it did work, the wizarding world might not look too kindly on a public display of his parselmouth talents. 'On the other hand, why should I care? It's not like they have been treating me well to begin with' he thought with a frown. Deciding it wasn't worth worrying about at the moment, he decided to go through the exercises Oliver Wood had the Gryffindor Quidditch team do before every match. Harry had no idea if they actually helped physically, but it did help him mentally prepare. A few minutes later Harry looked up to see Cedric Diggory walk in.

"Hey Harry." the Hufflepuff champion said, seemingly quite nervous.

"Hi, Cedric. Are you ok?"

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just a little excited is all." Harry nodded and didn't press any further. Cedric began to pace back and forth, softly muttering something to himself.

Soon Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour had also arrived. The four champions spent several minutes looking at their competition, trying to determine who would be the biggest threat. They all knew that Krum was considered the favorite to win the competition, with Cedric a close second. Each of them seemed to handle the stress differently, Harry noted. Once the other champions had arrived, Cedric had adopted and confident face and a small grin. Krum, on the other hand, never seemed to stop scowling at his competition while Fleur seemed just seemed bored.

"Excellent, you're all here!" a booming voice came from the opening of the tent. Harry turned to see Ludo Bagman walking in with two assistants. "Now, gather around and I will explain the first task to you." Harry calmly walked over to Bagman, much like Krum and Fleur. Cedric, however, seemed the most eager to hear what Bagman had to say.

"Today you must recover a golden egg, within which is a clue for your next task. In order to obtain the egg, however, you must make your way past a dragon. You will have thirty minutes to complete the task." Only Cedric reacted to the news, paling significantly. "There are four dragons, and in order to determine which one you will face you must reach into this bag and pull out a representation of that dragon. Ladies first, Ms. Delacour." He said as he offered her the bag. Fleur reach in and pulled out a small green dragon with a number 2 on a chain around its neck.

"Ah, the common Welsh green. Very good, you will go second. Mr. Diggory?" Cedric reluctantly put his hand in the bag and withdrew his dragon, which had a number 1 on it. "The Swedish Short-Snout! Excellent." Cedric gulped and held the tiny dragon up to his face, inspecting it.

"You're next, Mr. Krum." Viktor Krum scowled and pulled out his dragon, which had a 3 on it. "The Chinese Fireball. Which means you, Mr. Potter, will be facing the Hungarian Horntail." Harry pulled his dragon out of the bag, and recognized it from his studies as one of the most aggressive dragons in the world.

"You have twenty minutes to prepare yourself, Mr. Diggory. Good luck to all of you." Bagman said as he waved at them and left. Once he was gone Cedric walked over to a bench and sat down, deep in thought. Every so often he would glance at the miniature dragon, looking for inspiration.

'He has no idea what to expect.' Harry realized. 'But Krum and Delacour do. So do I, for that matter. Why would Moody tell me and not Cedric? I can't just let him die out there…' Harry sighed and walked over to the bench where Cedric was sitting. The older boy looked up at him suspiciously, wondering what he wanted.

"Cedric, did you know that wolves and dogs are natural enemies of dragons? Or that the flame freezing charm will provide a few moments of protection against dragon fire? Just some things to think about, I suppose." Harry started to walk away when Cedric's voice stopped him.

"Why are you helping me?"

"I still want to win, but I would rather not see you get burnt to a crisp out there either. Good luck, Cedric." Harry walked back over to where he had been sitting, wondering if it was smart to have given up a few key points to his backup plan. 'Oh well, I did only mention one spell and he probably would never consider summoning a broom.' Harry sat back down and listened to the noise from the growing crowd outside the tent. Another voice, this one much louder, was explaining the rules of the task to them and announcing the order in which they would face the dragons. Time seemed to drag on for him as his anticipation built. Finally, one of Bagman's assistants came into the tent and motioned for Cedric to follow him.

"You're up, Mr. Diggory." Cedric nodded and gave a brief thumbs up to Harry before walking out of the tent to the roar of an approving crowd. The other champions were not allowed to watch as that would give them an unfair advantage, but there was nothing stopping them from listening.

The crowd alternately gasped and cheered, but clearly Cedric had not yet been able to get the golden egg. Eventually the announcer declared that Cedric only had 15, then 10, and then 5 minutes left to successfully complete the task. When the one minute warning was given the crowd cheered louder than ever, Cedric was making a desperate last minute attempt to get the egg. The cheering continued until it was announced that his time had run out, and then a huge groan of disappointment was heard. Harry noticed a door on the tent fly open and Cedric walked in. He was covered in dirt and small scratches while part of his robes seemed to have been burned off, but other than that he looked fine. Cedric looked his way and shrugged. Harry guessed he was happy to get out of there in one piece.

"Ms. Delacour, your dragon is ready." the assistant said a few minutes later. At this the bored expression finally dropped from her face. She nodded nervously, took a deep breath, and walked out of the tent to face her dragon. The fans were not quite as loud for her as they had been for Cedric, but when she was able to put the dragon to sleep and take the egg fifteen minutes later a huge cheer rose from the crowd to congratulate her. Fleur slowly made it back to the tent, careful not to put much wait one of her ankles which she had sprained trying to avoid her dragon's tail.

Viktor Krum was the next to go, and as he left the tent Harry did not wonder if he would get the egg but how long it would take him. Krum, besides being an excellent Seeker, was supposedly very magically powerful. From the sounds of the crowd, Krum seemed to be fighting the dragon head on. There was a moment when the crowd screamed and went completely silent. Harry's head shot up, wondering what had happened to the other champion, when an enormous cheer signaled to him that Krum must have made it past whatever danger he was in. A similar roar of approval was heard minutes later when Krum was finally able to reach the golden egg. He had taken nearly three minutes less to get it than Delacour did. Harry now knew that if he wanted to place first in this part of the tournament he would have to get his egg in less than twelve minutes. Krum did not look good when he came back in the tent. He had a long gash down his left arm and much of his right side had apparently received burns that, though they were not life threatening, appeared to be quite painful.

'Should be doable, I hope.' Harry thought. His nervousness faded into anticipation as he waited for the dragon handlers to remove Krum's dragon and bring in the Hungarian Horntail. It was taking longer this time than it had after the other two competitors. The assistant finally came back in the tent and Harry leapt to his feet.

"Sorry, Mr. Potter. It will be just a few more minutes. Your dragon does not seem to want to cooperate." he explained. Harry groaned, cursing his luck. "OK, our apologies about the delay. You can go now, good luck." Harry thanked the man and walked out of the tent. The crowd cheered for him louder than he had expected, and a large smile spread across his face. His moment of happiness was interrupted by the Earth shaking roar of the Hungarian Horntail. The dragon was simply enormous. Its black hide was covered in ridges and spikes that made its lizard-like form appear even more deadly. As Harry continued to walk towards the dragon it raised its head and let loose a blast of fire that he thought must have been forty feet long. When he finally reached the starting area a cannon fired signaling that his time had started.

"OK, Harry, here we go." he said to himself. "Remember, don't show fear. Hagrid says many animals can sense it." At this point to dragon finally noticed his approach and turned to face him, roaring so loud that the crowd could not even be heard. Harry took out his wand, placed it to his throat, and called out "Sonorus!"

"_Greetings, great and noble dragon_." Harry hissed in Parseltongue with his magically amplified voice. The dragons roar lowered to a vicious sounding growl which Harry hoped was a good sign. The crowd, meanwhile, had stopped cheering completely. A few screams and gasps could be heard, but for the most part the spectators were oddly quiet. "_I mean you no harm._" Harry continued. The dragon glared at him, her growl had not lowered any and smoke was starting to come out of her nostrils. 'Perhaps this wasn't my best idea,' Harry thought 'but on the bright side she hasn't killed me yet. Although I am still not convinced she understands me. I know I don't understand her.'

"_I have come to warn you. One of the eggs you guard is not your own._" Harry seemed to have finally caught the dragon's attention with this statement. The dragon turned back towards her egg and sniffed them, eventually finding the golden egg. Enraged, the horntail let out and roar so loud that most of the audience was forced to clap their hands around their ears. "_That egg was placed there by the same men who even now keep you in chains._" This angered the dragon even more, and Harry started to worry that maybe he should not have said that. He and Daphne had discussed what he would say to the dragon the previous night, and had ended up with a small script designed to gain the dragon's favor. 'It was a lot easier reciting the script to Daphne than to a fully grown Hungarian Horntail.' Harry realized nervously. Meanwhile, fear was beginning to spread in the audience. They could not understand what was being said, but every time Harry spoke the dragon seemed to get angrier. And in the middle of it all was Harry Potter, still standing tall and proud in front of the dragon with no fear at all showing on his face. They couldn't know that on the inside all he wanted to do was turn and run. A few people had already decided that now was a good time to leave. Harry had come out of the tent less than five minutes ago, but in that short amount of time he had managed to spread panic throughout the crowd.

"_Please, my friend, allow me to take that false egg far away from here so that you can protect your young._" The dragon stopped growling at Harry's request and seemed to look closely at him, as if trying to judge his reliability. After a few moments the dragon turned back to the pile of eggs and using her long, forked tongue grabbed the golden egg and put it in her mouth. 'Uh oh...' Harry thought 'I wonder if I will lose points because my dragon ate my egg.' Harry was considering what to do next when the dragon lowered her head to the ground so that she could stare directly at Harry. He had thought the horntail was big before, but he realized that he had vastly underestimated her size. The dragons head was almost twice as tall as he was. Her mouth, which was close enough to him that Harry could feel her hot breath on him, was filled with teeth the size of his legs. With one small snort of flame, Harry knew, he would be dead. But he remained standing still and looking confident, fully aware that any mistake now could be fatal. Slowly the dragon began to open her mouth as the screams in the audience grew louder. Even some of the professors could be heard yelling for the dragon handlers to come to Harry's rescue.

Suddenly the dragon's dark tongue was forced out of her mouth. And to the shock of those brave souls still watching, it was wrapped around Harry's golden egg. The Horntail gently placed the egg on the ground in front of Harry and unwrapped her tongue from around it. "_Thank you._" Harry hissed sincerely. Nobody, not even Harry, was expecting the dragon's response. Her tongue, which had never made it back to her mouth, whipped out and gave Harry a full body lick starting at his ankles and ending at the top of his head. His black hair, which was always a mess anyway, was now covered in dragon spit and pointing in every direction imaginable. Harry, who had retained full control of himself until that moment, completely lost that control. He started laughing, not just giggles but huge laughs that made him double over and tears come to his eyes. When he finally managed to stop he looked up at the dragon who he would swear from that day forward had a smile on her face. With that he picked up his egg, waved good-bye to the dragon, and started walking back to the tent. On his way he looked up to the section where the Slytherins were sitting, hoping to be able to find Daphne, and was surprised at how easy it was to spot her. Apparently a large chunk of the Slytherin student population had decided to leave when Harry started talking to the dragon. He smiled and briefly gave thumbs up, resolving to find her later and thank her for her brilliant idea.

The crowd was completely silent and remained that way for several minutes, except for two Gryffindors who were clapping and cheering as loud as they could. When the judges eventually got around to scoring Harry's performance they quickly awarded him first place.

* * *

An hour later Harry, still clutching his golden egg, walked up to the painting of the Fat Lady guarding the Gryffindor dorms. He briefly wondered what he would find inside before saying the password and walking in. Most of Gryffindor was in the common room, talking animatedly about the day's events. When Harry came in most heads turned to look at him with the most common expressions being of awe, confusion, or worry.

"Great job, Harry!" he heard Neville call out and start clapping. Others slowly joined in, but reluctantly and not nearly as enthusiastic. Harry briefly noticed that Ron wasn't clapping, only standing by Ginny and looking at him with a look of suspicion. Fred and George Weasley, who didn't seem to care whether Harry had put his name in the Goblet of Fire or not, quickly rushed over to him and fell on their knees with their heads to the ground.

"All hail Dark Lord Potter!" they shouted, snickering at the gasps their outburst provoked. Harry simply laughed; knowing that they at least had the humor to make fun of what he guessed had been said about him.

"Rise, minions." Harry commanded. "Now, go prank the masses!" Still laughing, he walked over to where Neville and Hermione were standing.

"You probably shouldn't have done that, Harry." Hermione said, "It will probably end up in the Daily Prophet tomorrow." Harry could not tell whether she was being serious or not, but he had long stopped caring what was printed about him in the tabloids.'

"So what's the egg do, Harry?" Neville asked.

"I'm not sure, think I should open it?" They both nodded, and several curious people who were nearby turned their attention to Harry.

"Here goes nothing…" he said as he opened the egg. Immediately a loud shrieking noise filled the room, prompting groans and calls to "shut it up!" Once he had closed the egg the noise stopped, leaving Harry to wonder what the clue was.

"I think I will worry about this tomorrow. And maybe outside, with ear muffs on." Harry stated. "You guys have fun celebrating my victory, I've got to go get a shower. I'm still covered in dragon spit and am pretty sure I smell awful." No one chose to argue with Harry's statement. Once he had left, the talk turned back to him as people tried to figure out what it meant that Harry could command dragons.

* * *

Author's note:

Once again thanks for all the reviews. Judging by them, opinions seemed to be split on whether or not Harry should forgive Hermione or not. Personally, I think he would. Plus, I like her character while Ron's has always annoyed me.

This was a fairly quick update, but the next chapter might be a week away. The real world has a way of intruding on the fictional one like that.


	4. Chapter 4

The day after Harry's strange victory in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament all of Hogwarts seemed to be gossiping excitedly about the young champion. Opinions varied on the significance of Harry's actions. His image was not at all helped by the Daily Prophet and its star reporter, Rita Skeeter.

**The Boy Who Lived: The Next Dark Lord Or Merely Insane?**  
_By Rita Skeeter_

_In an unexpected turn of events, Harry Potter (age 12) managed to claim first place in the initial task of the Triwizard Tournament. He did not attempt to use transfiguration like Cedric Diggory, or charms like Fleur Delacour, or even brute strength like Viktor Krum. Instead the Boy-Who-Lived used Parseltongue (which has long been a trait shared by dark wizards) to command the fiercest of all dragons to submit to his will and hand over the golden egg. Rumors that Potter is a parselmouth first surfaced two years ago and have now been confirmed in spectacular fashion. We here at the Daily Prophet believe our readers have a right to know just what Harry Potter said to the dragon and whether or not he indeed used the Imperious Curse on the beast (as has been suggested in letters to the editor) in order to emerge victorious._

_Of course we should not immediately assume the Mr Potter is destined to be the next Dark Lord. Several Hogwarts students, who wish to remain anonymous, have expressed concerns to this reporter that the stress of the Triwizard Tournament has driven its youngest competitor insane. "Potter's gone completely mad! All of us Slytherins have seen this coming for years, it really shouldn't surprise anyone." one source explained. The strongest evidence for this point of view lies in the behavior of Harry Potter himself. As seen in the photo below, Mr Potter began laughing like a lunatic after gaining complete control over the dragon. So perhaps St Mungos, not Azkaban, lies in the young boy's future. Only time will tell._

By lunchtime almost everyone in Hogwarts had read the article, not to mention the others in the paper also speculating about Harry's sanity and moral fiber. The claim that Harry had the dragon under his command was quickly accepted as fact, and almost as quckly Harry's actions during the previous day became more and more embellished. The speed and ease at which the events became a strange legend was truly astounding. Only days later those who asked about the tournament were told that Harry had leapt on the dragons back and told it to belch flames at the audience before flying off with the golden egg clutched in his hands. The stories were, of course, ridiculous and almost all of the students knew it. But still, very few made an effort to correct the altered story and so it continued to be told. Harry Potter remained the favorite topic for discussion for a full week, until a surprise announcement thankfully granted him a reprieve.

* * *

"Did you read the Prophet this morning, Harry?" Neville asked as they walked to Charms class.

"No, but I've heard what it says. Rubbish. I can't believe people still listen to that hag Rita Skeeter." Harry answered.

"I know, but a lot of people do."

"Well what can I do about it. Even if I let her interview me Skeeter will just twist my words against me like she did last time."

"I guess so."

"Sorry, Neville. I don't mean to take this out on you, it's not your fault." Harry said, hoping his earlier tone didn't sound as harsh as he thought it did. Neville smiled and shrugged, acting like it was not a big deal to begin with. As the two friends neared the classroom loud voiced could be heard from inside arguing about something. Harry's mouth dropped open in surprise when recognized one of the voices.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I was there too, and we both know that it didn't happen like that. You're nuts if you think that he is a dark wizard." Ron stated with conviction. Noticing a few of the faces turn and look towards the door, Ron glanced over and saw Harry walking in. "There he is, go ask him yourself." Ron walked over to a desk at the other side of the room and sat down, not even once looking Harry's way again. Harry had not moved, still in shock about what he had heard his old friend say. It wasn't the apology he was hoping for and Ron still seemed to not care if their friendship was ever repaired, but it was at least nice to know what Ron was not a part of the group declaring that Harry was preparing to unleash a reign of terror across the wizarding world. It saddened him to think that only a month ago he and Ron were the best of friends, and yet now they went out of their way to avoid each other. He hoped that one day they could become friends again, but he really didn't hold out any hope of that happening soon.

Charms class went well. Harry had managed to surprise most of his professors with his steady improvement this year. Even Professor Snape had fewer legitimate reasons to complain about him. Though he didn't know it, the topic had also been discussed at staff meetings. Despite the distraction provided by the tournament Harry's grades had risen significantly and there did not seem to be any spell covered in class that he did not already know. In today's charm class they were discussing the theory behind the vanishing charm. Harry had not bothered to learn theory in his private training, so he sat and listened intently. He was surprised to learn that the charm had many uses other than simply getting rid of unneeded objects. As he sat silently thinking about that a realization hit him that was stunning because it should have been so obvious. 'Of course! I've been so worried about how many spells I know that I haven't been learning how to effectively use the ones I do know!' Harry was mentally kicking himself for his oversight when class ended and everyone began to file out of the classroom.

The feeling of someone quickly reaching into a pocket on his robes and then removing itself snapped Harry out of his internal monologue. He turned his head trying to see who had done it and was found Daphne standing slightly behind him trying her best not to look in his direction. Reaching into his pocket he felt a small piece of parchment which he knew was not previously there. Once he finally made it out of the classroom Harry took out the note and read it. "_Meet me in the third floor classroom after dinner. Bring your egg. - DG_" He smiled, happy that he finally had the chance to thank Daphne for her brilliant idea for the first task. Daphne had been on his mind a lot recently, Harry realized. While Harry spent almost every night in the forgotten classroom, Daphne had in the past two weeks began to show up every other night or so. Sometimes for just a few minutes, other times for more than an hour. Normally she simply sat and watched him attempt new spells, giving him advice when he struggled if she was able to. But if she noticed him trying to learn a spell she thought was particularly useful she would join in and try it as well. Harry didn't mind the distraction at all. He even got a strange sense of satisfaction when he was able to help her cast a new spell correctly. He wondered if maybe that meant he would enjoy being a teacher, but also suspected that who he was teaching had a lot to do with his happiness while tutoring Daphne.

Harry realized that he needed to find a way to thank Daphne, but what? That thought stayed on his mind the rest of the day.

* * *

Daphne had made it to the empty classroom first and when Harry walked in was practicing the shield charm that he had showed her a few days ago. Harry watched her cast it and every time the shield started strong but quickly faded away. After the third attempt Harry noticed what she was doing wrong.

"Don't twist your wrist so much when you cast." Harry advised, startling Daphne who had been concentrating so hard she had not noticed him come in. She nodded and tried again. This time the shield came up and stayed that way. For a few moments Daphne inspected the shield, looking for flaws. Finding none she let it fade out and turned towards Harry and put her wand away, smiling at her accomplishment. Then, completely shocking Harry, she walked over to him and gave him a brief hug. He did not even think to return it before Daphne pulled away, ending the brief contact.

"Thanks, Potter. You did great in the tournament, too! I knew the parseltongue would work. So were you able to understand the dragon?" she asked excitedly.

"No, I wasn't even sure that the dragon understood me until she started sniffing her eggs. I was almost ready to try the other plan until that happened." Harry answered. "So, do you want to see the egg?"

"Of course I do." Harry set down a bag he had slung over his shoulder and opened it. Daphne looked a little awed when she finally was able to see the golden egg up close. Harry chose not to tell her anything about the egg, hoping that maybe she would be able to find out something about it that he was not able to. Finding that the top part was a latch, she slowly turned it as Harry recast the silencing charm on the room. As expected, the loud shrieking noise filled the room, causing them both to wince. Daphne, however, did not slam the egg shut like Harry had done. Instead she began to look at the inside of the egg which was filled with swirling lights and colors. After several minutes she closed the egg and looked at it with a thoughtful expression on her face. Harry was about to say something when she opened the egg again and then immediately closed it.

"So, what do you think?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure. I thought that maybe there was some kind of lock on it and you had to open it a certain way in order for it to work, but it looks like there is only one way to open it."

"So if it isn't about how you open it then there must be something you do once you open it."

"Probably. When is the next task?" Daphne asked.

"Not until the end of January. So I have a while to figure it out."

"I doubt the egg is going to tell you how to beat the next part of the tournament, just to tell you what it is. So you better hope you can figure this out in the next couple of weeks."

"True." Harry gazed at the egg, deep in thought. "Open the egg again, I want to try something" Daphne nodded. opened the egg, and sat it down on a nearby desk. Harry smiled in thanks then raised his and said "Silencio!", casting the silencing charm on the egg. Immediately the shrieking noise stopped, but otherwise the egg remained the same.

"What did you think that would do?" Daphne asked.

"I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe I should try some other spells on it. How about Incendio?"

"You want to set the egg on fire?"

"It would make sense wouldn't it? After all I took the egg from a dragon, and when Hagrid had that dragon egg in first year he kept it over a fire until it hatched."

"Hagrid had a dragon egg?! You never told me that story, Potter." Daphne said, laughing.

"I guess I forgot. He had to give the dragon up, though. Ron's brother works on a dragon preserve and he was able to come and take it there. Anyway, let me try this." Harry started by dispelling the silencing charm and as soon as he did the awful sound returned. He wasted no time in casting Incendio on the egg, but nothing happened. Realizing that the dragon egg was only kept over the fire before it hatched Harry grabbed the golden egg off of the desk and closed it. He then took a few steps back and recast the spell, but still nothing happened. Sighing in disappointment, Harry sat down and stared at the egg angrily.

"It was a good idea, even if it didn't work out." Daphne said, sitting down at a desk near his.

"Thanks. Maybe I'll just have to wait on you having another brilliant idea. I really owe you for last time."

"Don't mention it." she answered with a shrug.

"No, I mean it. If there is anything I could do to thank you just let me know."

"Anything, huh?

"Well... within reason, yes."

"There is one thing, but I'm not sure you would want to do it."

"What?" Harry asked, very interested in what he could do to help her.

"Teach me how to cast the Patronus charm. You said you can cast a corporeal Patronus, right? I want to learn it, too."

"Sure, but why?"

"My father mentioned that it was important I learn it for some reason, and you are the only person I know here that can cast one other than the teachers. Come on Potter, let's see that Patronus."

"Fine." Harry took out his wand and started thinking about which memory to use. Remembering how he felt the previous year when Sirius said he would like it if he would come live with him, Harry jabbed out his wand and yelled "Expecto Patronum!" Immediately a pale, white stag leapt from Harry's wand and began to walk around the room as if it was looking for danger. Seeing none, it turned back towards Harry and approached him. Harry noticed Daphne staring and motioned her over. "You can get closer, he isn't going to hurt you." Daphne walked towards the ghost-like stag and attempted to pet him but was disappointed when her hand went straight through.

"This is amazing, it looks so real." Daphne whispered in awe, and then turned towards Harry and demanded: "Now you've got to show me how to do it." Harry nodded and ended the spell, causing the stag to turn into mist and then dissipate.

"It took me months to learn last year when Professor Lupin taught it to me. But I think that is because the way he does it and the way I do it are a little different."

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"Well, I've played around with this spell a little bit this year and I think I've figured out how it works. Professor Lupin told me to focus on a powerful, happy memory when I cast the spell but the more I think about it the more I realize it isn't the memory that is important. It is the emotion. If you could make yourself feel happy without thinking of a memory then that would work just fine, but you really have to feel the emotion for it to work."

"I think that makes sense. So I need to come up with a memory or some other way to provoke a feeling of happiness?"

"Sure, but any other positive emotion would work too. Once you've cast the spell if you lose focus on that feeling then the patronus will fade away. I have an idea about why it happens, but I don't think I really have any way to see if I'm right."

"Tell me what you think."

"My guess is that when you cast the spell you use your magic to create the white mist that can either form a shield or a true Patronus. But the mist disappears if you don't have focus on a good emotion, so the spell can't work unless you can get both parts to work together. Does that make sense?"

"That's brilliant, Potter! What you're saying is that while magic creates the mist it is the emotion that maintains and shapes it, right?" At her simplified explanation Harry's face lit up.

"Exactly. I wasn't sure how to explain it, but that is what I was trying to say." Harry replied happily. "So, do you think you are ready to try it? The wand motion doesn't really matter, and the incantation is 'Expecto Patronum'."

"I'll try, but I doubt it will work. I'm having trouble coming up with a good enough memory to trigger the emotion."

"The hardest part is getting it to work the first time. After that you don't have to doubt whether or not you can do it because you know you already have. Try it anyway."

"Here goes nothing..." Daphne responded. Harry watched as she let her arm fall to her side and she closed her eyes in concentration. For a few minutes she stood very still, trying to recreate a happy feeling. Suddenly her eyes popped open and she raised her wand calling out the incantation. The white mist leapt from her wand and she struggled while trying to hold it together. After a few seconds the mist evaporated and she lowered her wand with a disappointed look on her face.

"That was great!" Harry called out, surprising her. "I'm serious, that was much better than my first try. I could barely get any mist at all. You just need to improve your focus on the emotion and then you'll have it."

"I hope so." she said thoughtfully. "Potter, why is your Patronus a deer?"

"My dad was an animagus, and that was his form. It's nice to have something that connects us, you know? Even if it is something little like that." Daphne nodded in silent understanding. "We'll find out what your Patronus is soon, too." he added to brighten the mood.

"I wonder what it will be." she said, considering the possibilities. Realizing there was no way of knowing until she was able to cast the spell correctly, she sighed and gave up. "Thanks for the lesson. I guess I better go, but we can keep working on this right?"

"Sure. Just be sure to think about a good memory, one with strong emotions attached to it. Good night, Greengrass." Daphne smiled at him and walked out of the room, leaving him to continue his training. Harry felt a little sad to see her go, but was soon turning his focus back to the spells he had planned on reviewing.

* * *

A few days later Professor McGonagall scheduled a meeting to make an announcement to all of the Gryffindors. Similar announcements were being made by the heads of the other three houses. During lunch almost the entire school had been busy discussing what the announcement could possibly be, but no one had yet been able to forward an idea that convinced the others. To Harry, the excitement over the announcement was a welcome change. It had been almost a week since the article in the Daily Prophet calling him either insane or a dark wizard had come out and since then he had received distrustful looks from almost all of the student body. Harry tried to ignore it, and this time it was easier than when he had received similar treatment two years ago after rumors that he was the heir of Slytherin had spread. At first he had been angry at their reactions, but that anger quickly dulled to annoyance and then to indifference. After all, did he not have friends that would stick by him? True, there were not many of them but that did not really matter. And so Harry went on with his life, trying to do the best he could in school training his hardest so that he could survive the year. He just hoped McGonagall's announcement wasn't more bad news for him.

"Harry! Over here, we saved you a seat." Harry heard a voice call out as he entered the room. He looked over and realized that the voice belonged to Neville who was waving him towards an empty seat between him and Hermione. It was a good thing they had saved him a seat, he realized, because every other one was already taken even though the meeting was not supposed to start for another ten minutes.

"Thanks guys." Harry said while taking his seat. Looking around the room he spotted Ron talking with Seamus and Dean, looking somewhat bored. The other two male, fourth year, Gryffindors were nice enough but Harry had never really gotten to know them well. They seemed to share Ron's love of Quidditch but were definitely not fans of the Cannons, Ron's favorite team. Truthfully, Harry enjoyed playing Quidditch and even talking about strategy with his teammates but he always found long conversations about professional Quidditch annoying. 'Maybe Ron is better off with them as friends.' he considered.

"Harry, I was wondering if I could help you prepare for the next task." Hermione said, drawing his attention away from Ron. "I should have been there with you before the first task, but I was hoping I could start to make up for that."

"Sure Hermione. As soon as we figure out what the clue is I am sure your help would be great."

"Oh, so you and Neville are already working on the getting the clue?" Hermione asked, noting that Harry had said 'as soon as **we** figure out...'

"Harry hasn't asked for my help yet, Hermione. I would like to help too, if you think I could." Neville added.

"Of course, Neville. I really appreciated all you did helping me prepare last time." Harry said sincerely.

"Right, and then you went and did something completely different!" Neville laughed. "That was a great idea though, who would have thought to use parseltongue to speak to a dragon?"

"Wait, if you aren't working with Neville who are you working with?" Hermione questioned. Harry knew he must have let something slip, but clearly she still had no idea he was working with Daphne. It was too late to deny he was getting help from someone else, so he decided the best idea was to stall.

"I'll tell you Hermione, I promise. But not today."

"Ok, Harry. I am going to hold you to that promise." Hermione responded, clearly unhappy with Harry's answer. Harry wished he could have just told her about Daphne, but he was not willing to do that until Daphne said it was ok. If word got out that they were friends there would be consequences, and they would be worse for her than for him. Harry hated that, and wanted nothing more than to be able to protect her.

"Attention! Attention, everyone!" Professor McGonagall called from the front of the room. The assembled students immediately quieted and turned to listen to their Head of House. "I am pleased to announce that Hogwarts will host an event traditionally associated with the Triwizard Tournament, the Yule Ball." At this several voices, almost all female, began whispering with excitement and anticipation. "Students from fourth year and up are welcome to attend, while other activities will be scheduled for third years and younger. Further information will be posted on the bulletin boards in the common room. This event is first and foremost a ball, which means that there will be dancing." Several groans were heard in response to this.

"I think it would be better for everyone if I avoided the dance floor," Harry told Hermione with a laugh "Everyone's feet will be safer that way." Unfortunately for Harry, that was not going to be possible. For the next few minutes McGonagall continued to talk to them about the ball and everything that would accompany it. Even Harry had to admit it sounded like a fun time.

"Mr Potter, could you stay after?" Professor McGonagall asked as the rest of the students were dismissed. Harry sighed, guessing that he was not going to like what was to come. Once everyone else had left Harry walked to the front of the room where McGonagall was waiting. "It has long been a tradition for the Triwizard champions and their dates to open the ball with the ceremonial first dance. You will be expected to do the same."

"First dance? Date?" Harry said, trying to take in what he had heard. Professor McGonagall merely chuckled at his predicament.

"Mr Potter, despite what the Daily Prophet has been writing about you I doubt you will have any problem finding a girl willing to be your date for the evening. Do try and learn to dance well enough not to embarrass yourself."

"Yes, Professor. I'll try." Harry answered, wondering what he was going to do about the ball. Harry turned and walked out of the room to find Neville and Hermione waiting for him. They were both curious as to what Professor McGonagall wanted, but Neville was able to conceal his interest much better than Hermione.

"So, what did she say?" his bushy haired friend asked.

"Apparently the champions have to dance at the beginning of the ball with our dates. Meaning I not only need to learn to dance but I have to find someone willing to go to the ball with an insane dark lord." His friends laughed at his predicament, resulting in angry glares for both of them.

"Cheer up, Harry. You've faced a dragon, you can face this." Neville said encouragingly.

"And are you really saying that there is no one you want to ask?" Hermione questioned. Immediately the image of Daphne's face flashed in his mind, but he wasn't sure asking her to the ball would be a good idea. While he thought about it Hermione grinned knowingly. "So there is someone. You should ask them Harry, the worst that could happen is they say no." Harry nodded in agreement with her statement, still not sure if he would do it or not.

"I'll think about it, Hermione." Harry promised. To his surprise, for the rest of the day he found there was little else he could get his mind to focus on other than that.

* * *

The following evening found Harry once again in the third floor classroom trying to force as much power as he could into the spells he already knew. He enjoyed the exercise and the distraction it provided. As he cast spell after spell he could feel the slow drain on his energy begin to make itself felt. From experience he knew that if he kept going at this pace he would reach the end of his magical reserves in about a half hour. The sound from his spells impacting their targets was so loud he did not even notice the door opening or his Slytherin friend coming in.

"Potter!" she yelled, finally getting his attention. Harry slowly lowered his wand, the tip of which was still lightly smoking.

"Hey, Greengrass." he answered, still breathing heavy from training.

"I thought you said you weren't going to exhaust yourself anymore until we could figure out what was going on?" she reminded him.

"I know, but I'm not there yet. I could keep going for another thirty minutes." Harry sat down on bench, still huffing, and conjured a towel to wipe the sweat off of his face.

"Really? You could have fooled me."

"Yes ma'am, I've learned my lesson. I'll take it easy for the rest of the night." he answered sarcastically.

"Good. I'll only need you teaching skills tonight anyway. I think I have a got a good enough memory to make the Patronus charm work."

"Really? That's excellent!" Harry said in encouragement.

"I remembered that you said the emotion was more important than the memory, knowing that helped a lot. And I've been practicing since last time. I've gotten close, but I think I can get it this time. I'm going to try it now..." Daphne took her wand out and began to concentrate on her memory. When Harry saw a small smile on her face he knew that she was going to be able to cast the spell successfully. Finally she raised her wand and yelled "Expecto Patronum!" Immediately pale white mist began to flow out of the tip of her wand. The mist did not dissipate, but instead seemed to form a sphere that grew as the spell continued for several minutes. The sphere then began to take a shape and the first thing Harry noticed was that her Patronus was going to be a four legged animal of some type. Slowly the shape became more and more defined until at last a small white fox was left, its head looking around the room for signs of danger. Harry smiled and glanced over to Daphne, who still had her eyes closed focusing on the spell.

"You did it! Open your eyes and take a look." Harry said with a grin on his face. Daphne's eyes shot open and landed on her Patronus which was now looking directly at her. Daphne's pride and happiness were clear in the way she looked at the proof of her accomplishment. The ghostly fox walked over to Daphne who began to inspect the Patronus.

"This is amazing. I wasn't sure I could do it..." Daphne softly whispered. The fox remained for another minute or so until the spell began to get harder for Daphne to maintain. Slowly the fox lost its form and turned to mist. Harry felt immensely happy for her, knowing how hard it was for him to learn.

"I knew you could do it." Harry answered.

"Thank you." she replied, still a little shocked that it worked. The spell must have taken a lot out of her, Harry realized, when he saw her stumble slightly. He rushed over to her and put an arm around her waist to hold her up. The expression on his face changed to one of concern.

"Are you feeling ok?" Harry asked.

"Just a little tired, I guess." she answered, but her head started to fall and gently landed on Harry's shoulder. Harry helped her over to a bench along one of the walls, still clutching her tightly. Reluctantly he loosened his hold of her, but Daphne's head remained on his shoulder.

"Didn't you come in warning me not to exhaust myself?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Shut up, Potter." she said quietly. As the strength started to return to her she began to realize the position they were in. She sighed and lifted her head up and leaned against the wall for support instead. She was sad to note that it was much harder and colder.

"Do we need to get you to the infirmary for some Pepper Up Potion?" Harry asked, seriously this time.

"I don't think so. Just give me a minute. How are you able to make it look so easy?"

"I'm sure it will be easier the next time you do it. It's a hard spell, though." he reassured her. She nodded closed her eyes again, still not feeling strong enough to do much else. Harry watched her, wondering if she was about fall asleep. But a few minutes later she opened her eyes again stretched.

"I'm feeling much better now. Hope I didn't scare you too much." Harry laughed and shook his head, glad that she was ok.

"Greengrass, I was wondering. Would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?" Harry asked, surprising even himself with the question. It had been on his mind all day of course, but he had not had any intention of asking her when she came into the room. Daphne's head swiftly turned in his direction, and Harry was quite happy to see a small smile on her face. But as quickly as it had appeared the smile faded and was replaced by a look of worry. He knew bad news was coming when she turned her head away and looked at the floor.

"I can't." she answered simply.

"Oh." Daphne looked back at Harry and could see the disappointment clearly on his face. She wished it didn't have to be this way, angry that they could not even say hello to each other in the halls without it being looked at suspiciously. In that moment, Daphne made a decision.

"What I meant was, I can't answer you right now. There's something I have to do first. Can you wait a couple of days?"

"Did you already say yes to someone else?" Harry asked. The disappointment had faded from him, but was replaced with confusion and a little bit of hope.

"What? No, it's nothing like that! I'll explain as much as I can in a couple of days, ok? Please just leave it at that for now."

"Ok, I won't ask anything else right now."

"Good. Could you help me up? It looks like I have things to do." she stated. Harry stood and helped Daphne to her feet. She took a few steps to make sure she was ok to leave and found she was. "Thank you, Potter. For everything. I'll talk to you soon, ok?" Harry nodded and she walked out of the door, leaving Harry to speculate as to what was going on. He sighed with a little bit of frustration, realizing he would just have to wait to find out.

* * *

Author's Note:

I wish this update could have come a little quicker, but it happens. I hope you guys are enjoying this and remember your reviews and comments are always welcome. Now, I'll leave you to guess what Daphne is doing...


	5. Chapter 5

The next day Harry tried desperately to keep his mind focused on other things, but it kept coming back to Daphne. He thought often about their conversation the previous night and found it more and more confusing every time he mentally replayed it. The only comforting fact he had found was that Daphne seemed to want to go to the Yule Ball with him, even if other things might make that impossible. Harry wanted nothing more than to find her and get her to explain what was going on, but he had promised to let her handle the situation alone. Doing nothing was not a thing that came easy to him, he would much rather be rushing into action and facing whatever came his way head on. He laughed, knowing that if Daphne could hear what he was thinking she would mock him for being too much of a Gryffindor.

After dinner Harry had decided to read for a while instead of going to the third floor room to train. Earlier in the year he might have thought time spent reading would not help him face whatever challenged lay ahead, but he had eventually realized how stupid that idea was. Lots of types of knowledge can be useful, not just knowledge of spells. And so he was lying down on a long sofa in front of the fireplace with a beginner's book on Ancient Runes on his chest. The subject was more complicated than he expected it to be, but clearly could be very useful. He mentally chided himself for deciding to take Divination, which as far as he could tell was absolutely useless, instead.

Harry had made it through the day without giving in to his urges telling him to take action, but he hadn't noticed that his efforts had taken a toll on his attitude during the day or that his friends had noticed. Hermione in particular could tell that something was bothering him, and so after seeing him in the common room had decided to ask him about it. Harry did not notice that she was even in the room until she sat down on the sofa near his feet. He looked over the top of the book to see who had distracted him and after finding that it was Hermione he set his book down on his lap.

"Since when are you interested in Ancient Runes, Harry?" she asked, noticing the book he had been reading.

"I was just curious about what I was missing. Is it too late to drop Divination for something else?"

"No, but if you started next year you would probably have to be in the class with the third years. I could help you study if you wanted to try and catch up with our year, but it wouldn't be easy."

"Hmm, I'll have to think about it. Divination is a complete waste of time. I am sure Trelawny will miss being able to predict my death every class though." Harry added with a laugh.

"If you are going to do it, you need to decide soon. We only have a year and a half before our OWLs! I've barely even started on my study schedules for the next year, at this rate I will never be ready on time." she said, obviously worried. Harry laughed at his friend, knowing that she would probably end up with O's (the highest score) on every exam she took. Hermione frowned at his laughter, knowing that he did not take her concerns seriously.

"Relax, Hermione. You have plenty of time." Harry said, trying to talk his friend down from her self induced panic. "There's no need to worry about it yet."

"Fine, let's talk about other things then." Hermione answered, seeing her chance to turn the conversation towards what she originally wanted to know. "What's going on with you? You've been in bad mood all day."

"Have I?" Harry asked, surprised he had been that obvious. "Let's just say I have a lot going on right now. Tournaments, dates, golden eggs, dancing, figuring out who put my name in that damn cup, training, being slandered in the press... What else? I am sure I am forgetting something."

"Probably, but most of that was going on yesterday and you were fine then. So what is it?" Hermione looked at him, waiting for a response that wasn't coming. Deciding she would have to figure it out on her own, she started thinking about what possibly could have happened. Then an idea struck her. "Oh! Did you ask someone out and get turned down? It was Cho Chang wasn't it?"

"What? No, I did not get turned down and I did not ask Cho Chang." Harry answered, noting that technically it was true. Daphne may say no, but she had not yet. "Why would you think I would ask out Cho Chang anyway? I don't think I've ever even talked to her besides saying hello a few times."

"Oh, well I heard you and Ron talking about her a few months ago. And she is quite pretty."

"I'm not denying that, but I think I would rather go with someone I knew."

"I see, then we are talking about a girl you know fairly well. Since you obviously haven't asked me, we can take my name off the list of girls who could have turned down Harry Potter."

"I thought I told you, I didn't get turned down!" Harry said forcefully to Hermione's amusement.

"So who else do you know that it could have been? Ginny perhaps?" Harry looked at her in confusion.

"I think Neville is going to ask her to the Yule Ball. Don't tell him I told you that, though. Good for him."

"Not Ginny then. How about... Parvati Patil? Lavender Brown?"

"No and no. Give it up, Hermione. You are completely on the wrong track here. You are just going to have to wait and see who I am going to take." he added, aware that even he didn't know who he would wind up going to the Yule Ball with. Unhappy with the way the conversation was turning out, Harry decided to turn the tables on Hermione. "And what about you? What are your plans for the Ball?" Hermione smiled and blushed, then turned to look away.

"I've already got a date, and I am not going to tell you who it is." she answered. Harry grinned at her response, knowing that he could use it against her now.

"Well then, I guess we will both have to wait and see." Harry said triumphantly. Hermione realized she wasn't going to win this battle and sighed.

"Ok. In that case I am going to sleep. I still have my notes from third year Ancient Runes, if you're interested."

"Thanks Hermione, I would appreciate it. And good night." She nodded and began walking up the stairs towards her room. Harry was a little surprised at how close her guess about his situation had been, but was satisfied he had not said anything that would endanger his or Daphne's privacy. 'She is going to figure it out if I'm not careful...' he thought with a small sigh.

* * *

Harry did not see Daphne at all during the next day. She was absent even at meals, when she was normally seated near Tracy Davis and Blaise Zabini. This also happened to be the one day of the week in which Gryffindors did not share a single class with the Slytherins. Normally this was a relief and cause for celebration, but today Harry found it annoying. Even so he was careful not to let it show in his attitude; the last thing he wanted was to encourage Hermione to dig for more information. It was not until the following day that Harry once again felt a hand slip into his pocket and leave something behind. This time he simply smiled, not even turning to act like he didn't know who had done it. The note told him to meet Daphne in the third floor classroom at 8:30 PM and nothing else. Harry was reminded of the spy movies that Dudley sometimes liked to watch and thought it was funny that even with the advantage of magic he and Daphne were sending messages in the same way he had seen those fictional spies communicate.

By 8:15 Harry had grown tired of waiting and decided to get to the unused room a little early. He was a little disappointed to find that Daphne wasn't there, and so he sat down and begin to wait. At exactly 8:30, the door opened and Daphne walked in. After stopping to magically lock the door and silence the room she turned towards him and smiled.

"Hello, Potter. Been waiting long?" she asked cheerfully, knowing that Harry was waiting on her answer.

"No, not long." Harry paused and decided he had waited long enough. "So... what's going on?"

"We have a lot to talk about tonight, Potter. You have no idea how much trouble you caused when you asked me to the Yule Ball. Actually, that's not fair. I caused much of it as well when I decided that I wanted to go with you."

"Would it have been better if I had not asked you?" Harry said, frowning and waiting for her to turn him down.

"It would have been easier, I suppose. But you can't back out now. You asked, I am saying yes, and we are going. That's that." she said, grinning at his reaction. For a moment Harry just smiled but then, feeling a little of that Gryiffindor courage, he stepped towards Daphne and pulled her into a hug. Harry expected her to be surprised by the hug, but she merely returned it.

"I was hoping you would say that." Harry admitted, still not breaking the contact. "There is one thing I may have forgotten to tell you though. Since I'm one of the Triwizard Champions we will have to open the ball with a ceremonial first dance, along with the other champions of course."

"That shouldn't be a problem, assuming you know how to dance. You do know how to dance, don't you?" Daphne pulled back so she could look at his face, which quickly dropped. "I will take that as a no. I guess we'll just have to add that to your training regimen. Now, let's sit and I will tell you what I couldn't say a few days ago." They both walked over to a long table with a couple of chairs surrounding it. Daphne took a seat near the end of the table and Harry took one directly across from her. For a few moments she sat thinking, deciding how to best explain.

"Just start from the beginning." Harry advised.

"Ok then. What do you know about the Greengrass family?" she asked.

"Not much. You parents are still alive and they weren't Death Eaters. You have a little sister who is a second year, in Slytherin like you. The family is pureblooded and considered dark as far as I know. Is that about right?"

"Very basic, but pretty much right. I guess you get the long version then. So let's start at the beginning. The Greengrasses are a relatively old family, though not as old as the Potters. The first mention of a Greengrass in the records is of a Henry Greengrass who received special recognition during the Goblin Rebellion of 1476. Whether he was a half-blood or a muggleborn is still being debated in my family."

"What? I thought your family was pureblooded?" Harry asked in shock.

"They are now, but how do you think every pureblooded family gets started? Somewhere at the very top of every family tree is a muggleborn wizard. That's part of the pureblood hypocrisy that they try to ignore. But we go along with it because in this society it is better to be a part of an influential family. Even the idiots like the Malfoy's know that the originator of their line was a mudblood." Daphne said, laughing.

"I guess I had just never thought about it, but that makes sense. You said my family was older, how do you know about them?"

"Because every 'proper' pureblood is taught the histories of the other families so you will know where you stand in terms of age and respect. The Potters are only about fifty years older, but they are also the last surviving official branch of the Peverell's and they can be traced to the very beginnings of wizarding Britain. They were also known to claim some relationship to Godric Gryffindor, but that isn't proven. Either way, if you wanted to play the part of a snobbish pureblood you have a good enough name to get away with it."

"But I'm a half blood."

"That wouldn't matter. The name is the important thing. Now, as I was saying before you distracted me, for the next few hundred years the Greengrasses built up a reputation of being a relatively dark family. Sometimes allying with dark lords, mostly staying neutral, and in a few rare cases opposing them."

"You make it sound like there is always a dark lord around."

"That isn't far from the truth, actually. Normally a minor dark lord will rise up every twenty years or so and stick around for a couple of years before finally being defeated. Major dark lords are rarer, they usually only come about once every 200 years but when they do they could stay in control for decades. This century has been an exception to the rule with two major dark lords coming to power."

"Grindelwald and then Voldemort." Harry answered.

"Exactly. On the bright side they managed to kill off any competing minor dark lords, but does not help everyone else out much. The Greengrasses are considered a dark family, although not nearly as dark as the Malfoy's or the Nott's or the Black's."

"My godfather's family?" Harry asked, and then after thinking about it began to nod.

"Yes. Don't forget that his brother was a Death Eater, so was his cousin Bellatrix, and his other cousin might as well be after ending up married to a Malfoy."

"I'll have to remember to ask Sirius what he thinks about that." Harry said with a laugh.

"Opinions on my family changed a little bit fifty years ago when my grandfather, Darius Greengrass, joined the fight against Grindelwald." Daphne said, trying to get back on topic.

"Why?"

"That war was different than the one against You-Know-Who, even if some of their propaganda is similar. It might surprise you to find out how many of the darker families fought against Grindelwald, and how many others stayed neutral. The reason is that a lot of the families saw Grindelwald as a foreigner looking to impose his will on wizarding Britain and they didn't like that, especially since his plans would cost them wealth and political power. The difference in the last two wars is like the difference between a nation being attacked by another nation and one fighting itself in a civil war. So, thinking it was in the family's best interest, he joined the war against Grindelwald. Apparently, this is when he started to really not like Dumbledore."

"But Dumbledore is the one who defeated Grindelwald, why wouldn't your grandfather like him if they were on the same side?"

"Because Dumbledore just wanted to defend and never wanted to attack. He sat back and did nothing as Grindelwald's forces killed almost fifty percent of the witches and wizards in Moscow, including some of my grandfather's friends. The history books say that Dumbledore was doing all he could, but apparently that was something my grandfather could never accept. By the time Dumbledore finally was willing to face and defeat Grindelwald most of the wizarding communities in Europe had been destroyed along with the muggle cities. A lot of the other families felt the way my grandfather did once the war was over."

"It is a shame they don't teach this in History, I would actually stay awake for that." Harry said, still very interested in where her story was headed.

"Maybe if we could get a living teacher that would be possible." Daphne complained, referring to the ghost that taught their Wizarding History class. "Back to the story... After the war grandfather went home and things started to go back to normal. Wizarding Britain had not been damaged as much as their continental counterparts, and so while other societies rebuilt ours began to thrive. The Greengrasses, along with many other families, prospered in terms of status and wealth. It wasn't until the late 1960's that rumbings about a new and powerful dark lord began. When You-Know-Who eventually declared his presence in the early 1970's my grandfather decided to keep the family neutral. Besides being the family's traditional stance, he was reluctant to ever join forces with Dumbledore again. Slowly, the Dark Lord's power was growing and by the late 1970's many people were beginning to think that he could not be stopped. More than once our family was approached by Death Eaters who wanted the Greengrasses to pledge their loyalty to You-Know-Who, but my grandfather was stubborn and told them no every time. He was also approached by Dumbledore who wished for his assistance, but he was also told no."

"It sounds like your family should be called gray, not dark."

"Perhaps so, but we aren't done yet. My grandfather had two children, both sons. The oldest, my father, is Daniel Greengrass. As oldest he was expected to take charge of the family when grandfather died. His younger brother, Gabriel, wasn't very happy about that and they never really got along with each other. When the Dark Lord started winning my uncle begged grandfather to pledge the family to You-Know-Who, saying that the family would be better off if they did. Still though, the family stayed neutral. Then in 1978 my grandfather unexpectedly became very ill. The healers were never able to determine what was wrong with him, and after a few months he was dead. I wasn't born yet, so I never even had the chance to meet him."

"I'm sorry. I guess I know how you feel, I didn't get to know my grandparents either." Harry said, trying to comfort her.

"Thanks. A few days after my grandfather's death my uncle showed up at my father's home. He had joined the Dark Lord and taken the Dark Mark, and he urged my father to do the same for the 'good of the family'. My father, wanting to respect the wishes of his father, said no and made it clear that the family was staying neutral. Uncle Gabriel didn't like that, but decided not to challenge his decision. Every few months my Death Eater uncle would come home, ask my family if they were ready to join the Dark Lord, get told no, and leave. We never knew what exactly Uncle Gabriel was doing for You-Know-Who, and my father didn't really want to ask. Things stayed that way until October of 1981 when you somehow managed to survive the killing curse and the Dark Lord was defeated." Daphne stopped to catch her breath for a second and think of how to continue the story.

"What happened to your uncle?"

"A few days later he led a group of Death Eaters into the Ministry trying to get information on what happened to the Dark Lord and if he was still alive. The raid was not successful and of the five Death Eaters that came only my uncle survived the Auror's counter attack. He was then questioned, tried, and taken to Azkaban where he still lives to this day. My father went to see him a couple of times right after the trial, but Uncle Gabriel was bitter and angry and spent the visits blaming my father for not supporting the Dark Lord. So father stopped visiting. He hasn't been back in nine years."

"Wow, that is one hell of a story. But I still don't understand what it has to do with me asking you to the Yule Ball."

"I know, I'm getting there. One more thing about my uncle, want to guess who the Auror who captured him was?"

"It was Professor Moody wasn't it?"

"Yes it was. It's strange, when I first went to his class I expected him to treat me differently because of what happened. So far he has been nice to me, but he does seem to dislike some of the other Slytherins like Malfoy."

"Maybe he just doesn't blame you for your uncles actions, it wouldn't make sense to." Harry suggested.

"I guess so. Anyhow, after my uncle's arrest everyone just assumed that the Greengrass family had secretly supported You-Know-Who during the war. Even though it wasn't true my family was once again considered a dark family. Everything I've said so far has been what I have learned from my father over the years. My father always treated it like it was just interesting family history, but that changed a few months ago." she added.

"What happened?"

"You should know better than anyone since you were there. It changed when Death Eaters attacked the Quidditch World Cup. After that my father seemed very nervous, like he expected the Dark Lord to reappear at any moment. A few days before school started he sat my sister and I down and told us to pay special attention to what the children of the old Death Eaters were saying and doing, and if we heard anything that we thought was important to immediately owl him. I need to apologize to you for what happened next though."

"Huh?" Harry asked, confused.

"I promised you that I wouldn't repeat the things you told me to anyone, especially about what happened at the end of first and second year. But I thought my father needed to know, so I told him. He was a little mad that I didn't tell him sooner."

"Oh, it's ok. I understand why you did what you did."

"Good. Apparently my father never really believed that the Dark Lord was dead, after all there was never a body to prove it. When I told him about the spirit of You-Know-Who going after the Philosopher's Stone in first year he knew he had been right, but he didn't know why the Dark Lord had not died. Somehow, I think he figured it out when I told him about the Chamber of Secrets and Riddle's diary. He got really excited when he heard about that and started asking all kinds of questions about what it did. I asked him what he was thinking but he told me it was better that I didn't know. I did overhear him say 'Of course, he wouldn't have made just one though' while he was thinking about what I said to him."

"I don't get it, what does he know and how?"

"I think I might know the how part. Before my grandfather died my father worked for the Ministry as an Unspeakable, and all he would tell me about his old job is that he did research. Maybe he learned something then that would explain how the Dark Lord is keeping himself alive. My father quit his job once he took control of the family because he thought that if he worked for the Ministry people would assume that he supported their fight against You-Know-Who and it would be impossible to stay neutral. After I finished telling him the things I had heard from you he insisted that we be very careful because it was only a matter of time before the Dark Lord was reborn."

"He might be right." Harry answered uncertainly. "He hasn't been able to do it yet, but he has gotten very close at least twice in the past few years. It just doesn't seem like there is anything we can do about it. Maybe Dumbledore is doing something."

"He probably is, but even Dumbledore isn't all powerful. I asked my father what we would do if the Dark Lord returned and he said that we would never join him, but for now it was important to not obviously take a side. I expected him to say that we would stay out of it at any cost, but for some reason he is willing to fight the next time around. That was why he encouraged me to learn the Patronus charm." she explained.

"Of course! There is no reason to learn it other than to fight of Dementors and they joined Voldemort's side in the last war. He thinks Voldemort will come after your family, doesn't he?" Harry asked, now very concerned about her safety.

"Eventually yes, but for now there is not much we can do but prepare ourselves. When you asked me to the Yule Ball I really wanted to say yes, and the only reason I didn't is because of my father's warning not to take a side. The moment we show up to the Ball together everyone is going to assume that we have joined your side."

"This is crazy, you know that right? We aren't fighting a war right now and I don't have a side." Harry stated in frustration.

"But we will be, and you will. After you asked me to the Yule Ball I owled my father and told him about it. He owled back that he would think about it and I should wait for his response. Then today he told me that I could go to the Ball if I still wanted to, but he didn't really explain why he changed his mind. He did say, however, that we should not let anyone know we are going together and that I need to make sure that my sister Astoria and I will be safe after everyone finds out."

"Safe from the other Slytherins you mean." Harry said knowingly. Since they truly became friends before the first task Harry had worried often about what would happen to her if anyone in her house found out but he had not even considered that her little sister could be threatened as well. "Whatever I can do to help, I will do it."

"I know, and thank you. Astoria should be fine, she has a good group of friends that will stick by her no matter what. I won't be the most popular girl in Slytherin, but then again I never was. Not everyone will be against me though, Tracy and Blaise will watch out for me when they can." Daphne stopped, seeing that Harry was obviously upset at her predicament. "Stop blaming yourself, this was my decision. There is only one thing I need from you right now."

"And what is that?"

"Make sure to get yourself some nice dress robes." she said, grinning. "After all, our picture is probably going to end up on the front page of the Daily Prophet and I can't have my date looking like a slob."

"I'll see what I can do." Harry said, smiling a little. He was still worried about her, but realized that at the moment there was very little he could do.

"Story time is over. I better go, I still have half of that Transfigurations left to do. I know I dumped a lot onto you tonight, but I really am glad we are going to the Yule Ball together." she said sincerely.

"Me too." Harry answered. As she turned to leave Harry thought about all of the things she had told him, surprised that asking a girl on date could become so complicated. 'Then again,' he thought, 'nothing I do is ever easy.' He let out a small laugh as the door closed, leaving him alone in the classroom. A few minutes later he decided that his mind was too distracted to do any meaningful training and left the room as well. He spent the rest of the night mostly worrying about Daphne and thinking up ways to get revenge on Malfoy if he ever found out the blond idiot had threatened her because of him.

* * *

Author's note:

In the reviews for the last chapter several of you noted that Rita Skeeter's article contained inaccurate information about Harry Potter. I am certain that the editors of the Daily Prophet would be appalled by this revelation and they will quickly issue a correction.

This chapter was very background heavy, but I thought we were far enough in to the story to start explaining where Daphne is coming from. Plus it might get you guys to start thinking about things I plan on doing in the story later on. Hope you liked it and please keep reviewing with your comments, criticisms, and ideas.


	6. Chapter 6

The next week passed rather uneventfully for Harry, much to his relief. Even the Daily Prophet got bored running the same stories about him and switched to different topics. A few days after that the Prophet actually printed an article which talked about him in a positive light, a move that might have otherwise made him happy but at the moment just convinced him the people in charge of the newspaper had no idea what they were doing. As the end of the semester approached, Harry's fellow students had less time to gossip about him as they found themselves studying for exams. A few of them even seemed to forget that they were supposed to dislike Harry because he was a dark lord in progress and were friendly towards him again. The only negative part of this was that he realized people could change their minds about him as quickly as the Daily Prophet. While walking with Neville to class one day a group of Ravenclaws who had not spoken to him for over month greeted him as if nothing had happened, prompting Harry to later joke to Neville that he was a hero Monday through Thursday but a villain the rest of the week. All things considered, Harry thought it was the best week he had had since his name was pulled out of the Goblet of Fire.

The biggest disappointment of this time was his inability to figure out how to retrieve the clue to the second task from the golden egg. He had tried casting dozens of spells on the egg hoping to unlock its secrets but none of them had been successful. Daphne had contributed a few ideas but none of them had worked either. Eventually Harry realized that he was going to need more help and had told Neville and Hermione about his dilemma. This resulted in Hermione immediately rushing off to the library to begin looking for ideas. She was neglecting her school work in order to help him, and once Harry realized that he ordered her to stop pushing herself so hard. He knew she was working so hard in an attempt to make up for her previous mistakes and while he really did appreciate the effort, he didn't want to see his friend's grades suffer because of it. Hermione was able to come up with a few ideas he had not considered, but still nothing they tried worked. Harry had even considered asking Cedric if he knew what to do with the egg, thinking the older champion might feel like he owed Harry a little help for giving him some advice before the first task. He finally decided against asking for now, although he could always reconsider if time was running out and he still had not discovered the clue.

Meanwhile Harry's training had changed significantly. After realizing that Daphne would be putting herself in danger because of their relationship (which even he could see was quickly becoming more than a simple friendship) he began insisting that she practice alongside him. She initially protested, saying that she would just slow him down, but gave in to his demands when it became clear he was not going to back down. Harry's training did move slower, which was inevitable due to his greater experience and magical power, but he was happy to see that the extra time he spent on every lesson allowed him gain a better understanding of what he was doing. It was clear to him that Daphne had the potential to be a very powerful witch if she pushed herself, and Harry was dedicated to helping her do just that. To Harry's surprise it was Daphne that suggested they start dueling each other as a part of their training. Neither of them had ever had formal instruction on how to duel so for the most part they were dependent on various books on dueling and learning by the trial and error method. They were learning a lot, but Harry knew that they were going to eventually need someone more experienced to teach them. His first choices were either Sirius or Remus, but he didn't know if it would be possible for either of them to do it until the summer at the earliest. Daphne, he knew, would be able to practice with her father who would not need to be convinced why it was necessary.

The fact that they were secretly preparing for a war that he hoped never came to pass was often on his mind. Harry doubted he would ever be a powerful wizard in the same league as Voldemort or Dumbledore, but knew that for some strange reason that the only way Voldemort would stop trying to kill him was if he finally succeeded. And even then Riddle would probably curse his corpse a few times just for laughs. He guessed that the dark wizard's obsession with him was due to the fact that as long as he lived he was proof that Voldemort was not all powerful. Harry also wondered about the complaints regarding Dumbledore that Daphne's grandfather had. All of the history books agreed that Dumbledore had joined the war several years before he finally faced Grindelwald on the battlefield, but what exactly was he doing during that time? No one seemed to know why he waited, but it was clear that if Dumbledore was avoiding Grindelwald then Grindelwald was also doing his best to avoid Dumbledore. Decades later in the war against Voldemort it was Dumbledore that was known as the only wizard that Voldemort feared, and yet the evil wizard was not brought down by the Headmaster but by an infant. Once again Harry felt that there was missing some key piece of information that would explain everything, but he was unable to determine what it was. He wondered what Dumbledore would say if he asked about it, but doubted that he would get a plain answer when no one else had been able to.

All of this combined to make Harry quite nervous. It was a hard thing for a fourteen year old to realize that his foreseeable future would be spent either trying to prevent a war or fighting in one, though he hoped that did not come to pass. Surely others were aware of what was happening, especially Dumbledore. But Dumbledore had done nothing to keep him out of the tournament after his name came out of the Goblet of Fire, which he could only assume was somehow related to Voldemort. In fact, the two had barely spoken to each other since then. Perhaps Harry should try and see the Professor...

For what seemed like the millionth time, Harry wished he could just have the problems that a normal teenager had.

* * *

Daphne yanked open the door to her bedroom in the Slytherin dorms wanting nothing more than to collapse on her bed and sleep for a few days. Ever since she had told Harry about her family history and the danger she might be in he had taken it upon himself to turn her into a one girl army. She had owled her father and told him about Harry's reaction to her story and he seemed proud of her and impressed with Harry's drive and initiative. She was somewhat surprised to find that she enjoyed their joint practices and that she was improving faster than she had ever expected. Despite her improvement, however, she was still no match for Harry who she was now convinced would have been the true Hogwarts Triwizard champion if they had allowed him to enter legitimately.

Her thoughts of sleep were suddenly disrupted when she noticed someone sitting on her bed. Daphne's wand was up and the tip glowing bright red with a spell ready to be cast when she realized that the person on her bed was not a threat at all, just her little sister Astoria. The light from her wand dimmed and she lowered it to her side, but she continued to glare at the younger witch.

"You know better than to surprise me like that, I almost hexed you." Daphne advised Astoria.

"You wouldn't hex your favorite sister would you, Daph?" Astoria answered, pretending to be perfectly innocent.

"Only sister, and maybe." Daphne responded. Astoria merely shrugged and continued to sit on the bed. Astoria looked much like a younger version of her older sister. Their face shapes were almost identical and they had similar builds, although even when they were both finished growing Daphne was destined to be a couple of inches taller than her younger sister. Some of their other features differed, such as Astoria's eyes were green while Daphne's were a dark blue and the younger Greengrass had brown hair as opposed to her sister's blond hair. Both girls were still considered quite beautiful by their peers. Daphne waited for Astoria to say something, but when a minute had passed and she hadn't Daphne sat down next to her sister and said "So, what's going on?"

"That's actually what I wanted to ask you, Daph." she said with a small smile. One other difference in the two girls was their personalities. Astoria was very talkative and outgoing and seemed to make a lot of friends, even ones from other houses who might have otherwise thought it strange to meet a Slytherin so likable. Daphne preferred to keep a few good friends and didn't really care what anyone else thought. Astoria could also be very blunt when she had something to say or ask.

"What exactly are you talking about?" Daphne asked.

"Oh a lot of things. Like where have you been disappearing to every night for the past few weeks?"

"I'm studying, Astoria. Perhaps you aren't familiar with doing that? Honestly, I hear you are scraping by with an Acceptable in Herbology." She tried her best not to look at all surprised or interested in Astoria's accusation, but mentally she was kicking herself for not being more careful.

"I'll bring the grade up by the end of the year, and quit trying to change the subject. I know you haven't been in the library."

"There are lots of places in the castle to study, it doesn't have to be done in the library you know."

"Ok, maybe so. I'll give you that one. But what about this?" Astoria motioned to the new dress that her mother had sent her to wear to the Yule Ball. Daphne had been in a rush to get to class when she had received the package and had simply left the dress on her bed. "I know this is a new dress, which could only be for the Yule Ball. But no one else seemed to think you were the least bit interested in going. So spill it, who is the lucky guy?"

"That's what this is about, you want to gossip about me?" Daphne asked incredulously.

"Well, that and at the end of his last letter to me dad wrote 'remember to listen to your sister, no matter what happens in the next few weeks'. Leading me to think something strange is going to happen in the next few weeks." Daphne sighed and shook her head, knowing that she was going to have to tell her sister something, even if she didn't want to explain everything.

"Ok Astoria, I'll tell you a little. Yes, that dress is for the Yule Ball."

"I bet mom and dad know who you are going with, don't they?" Astoria whined.

"Yes. And they approve, so you should stop worrying about that. I would tell you who I'm going with but I know how bad you are at keeping secrets." Daphne said aiming a mocking smile at her sister.

"I am not!" she responded angrily. "Fine, don't tell. Why should I care anyway?"

"You actually should." Daphne said with a sigh. "I have a feeling that after the Yule Ball our fellow Slytherins might not like me too much. I can take care of myself, but you have to let me know if anyone is giving you a hard time because of me ok?" Astoria looked at her sister with a confused expression on her face. She couldn't think of any reason for Daphne to think that, but she did trust her older sister enough to give her the benefit of the doubt. Plus, whatever was going on, seemed to have worried her parents a little as well.

"Alright Daph. But after the Yule Ball you are going to tell me everything."

"Agreed. Now get out of here, I want to sleep." Daphne said as she stood and picked up her dress in order to hang it up. Astoria nodded and left the room, wishing she could help her older sister with whatever was troubling her. Once she was gone, Daphne frowned and looked at the closed door her sibling had just walked out of. She could only guess what her house's reaction to her date with Harry Potter was going to be, but she promised herself that if anyone laid a finger on Astoria they would pay for it in a variety of painful ways. And if necessary she could always ask Harry to help she thought with a evil grin, she knew he would be happy to do it.

* * *

On the last day of classes in the winter semester the student population was in a mild state of panic, as was completely normal. The last round of end of semester exams was today, and for the fourth year Gryffindors that meant Potions with Professor Snape. Harry had found over the years that his work had to be almost flawless in order to receive even a passing grade. The result, although Snape would never admit it, was that Harry had turned out to be quite a proficient potions brewer. Even so, he knew that Snape took special joy in criticizing his exams, so even though Harry felt confident he knew what he was doing going into the test he could never be sure what the result would be. Luck was on his side today as Vincent Crabbe had somehow managed to blow up his cauldron a quarter of the way through the test. Professor Snape was too distracted handling the aftermath to sabotage Harry's potion and as a result he had completed the potion as close to perfectly as he thought possible. It might even be good enough for an Exceeds Expectations grade from the greasy git of a professor.

With his exams done and feeling good about his day so far, Harry decided to take the golden egg down to a quiet spot by the lake and give it another try. He was convinced that his original idea of casting Incendio on the egg had been a good one and thought that maybe he just needed to get the egg hotter. The thought of casting the fire spell at full power inside the castle made him nervous, he had no intention of becoming The-Boy-Who-Burned-Down-Hogwarts after all, so he decided that doing it outside was a much better option. He had found rocky section next to a side of the lake facing the Forbidden Forest and thought it was a perfect place for his experiment. As long as he set the egg on the rocks and cast towards the lake there was little chance that even the grass would catch fire. And, on the off chance it did, there would be a large body of water nearby he could use to put the fire out.

Five minutes after reaching his chosen spot Harry was finally satisfied that he had everything set up how he wanted it and was ready to begin. As he got into place and prepared to start the spell the sound of someone calling his name forced him to look up and towards the castle where he could see Hermione walking towards him. He lowered his wand and waited, remembering that he had told her what he planned on doing earlier in the day.

"Hey, Hermione." he said when she finally made it to his spot on the lake. "Come to watch the fireworks?"

"Of course! And it will be nice to warm myself by the flaming egg on a cold day like this." she added with a laugh.

"Let's get this started then. Why don't you stand over there, it'll be safer that way." Hermione nodded and moved to the spot he had pointed at. Harry raised his wand and concentrated on focusing his magic. Slowly he could feel the power bubbling to the surface, looking for a way to escape. Knowing he was ready, Harry flicked his wand in a precise movement and shouted "INCENDIO!" The huge flame that leapt out of his wand was hot enough that Hermione felt the need to take a few more steps backwards. The golden egg was not even visible, hidden by a stream of fire that showed no signs of letting up. After thirty seconds Hermione began to wonder how long Harry could keep casting a spell of this strength. A minute in she was shaking her head in disbelief that her friend was capable of such a feat. By the time Harry ended the spell nearly three minutes after he started it Hermione was staring at him in awe.

"Harry Potter! Where did you learn that?!" Hermione finally managed to say, not nearly as loud as she had planned. Harry meanwhile was breathing heavily, waiting for the smoke around the egg to clear. When it finally did Harry saw that the egg was glowing red from the heat, but other than that there was absolutely no change.

"Damn it!" he yelled out in frustration. "I was so sure that would work." Harry was pacing in front of the egg, racking his mind trying to find something he might have missed.

"Harry, calm down. We'll figure this out, I know we will." Hermione reassured him, but Harry was still pacing. Hermione was about to say something else when Harry growled at the egg and kicked it into the lake where it promptly sank to the bottom with the water above beginning to heat and turn into steam as the egg cooled.

"Ok, I feel better now." Harry finally said as he walked over to where Hermione was still standing.

"Really?" Hermione asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Sure. At least now I know that the fire idea is a bust. I'll just have to try something else next time. There has to be something about the egg I am missing."

"Speaking of the egg, shouldn't you go get it before you forget where it is?"

"That shouldn't be a problem" Harry answered. He walked over to the shore of the lake and pointed his wand at the spot where the egg had dropped. "Accio golden egg!" he said forcefully, but nothing happened. Frowning, Harry tried the spell again and it still did not work. He was about to cast the spell a third time when he suddenly lowered his arm and started laughing.

"Harry, what's so funny?" Hermione asked, a look of confusion etched on her face.

"I was just thinking how stupid I would have felt if that had actually worked!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Of course the golden egg has anti-summoning charms on it!" Harry explained. "If it didn't I could have just walked up to the dragon, Accio'd the egg away, and left without ever having to face the dragon. And all of the trouble we went to figuring out how to get past the dragon would have seemed really silly." Hermione smiled, finally understanding what was so funny.

"So Hermione, I was thinking. I am sure I would forgive you of all past, present, and future sins if you would do me a small favor and get my egg out of the lake for me." Harry said, trying to look serious.

"Dive into the lake in the December? I don't think so, Harry. You kicked it, you go get it." Hermione answered, still smiling. Harry grumbled and then walked over to the edge of the lake, pausing to take his school robe and shoes off. He stopped and looked at the lake for a few moments, as if trying to convince himself to dive in, before looking back at Hermione.

"Just make sure to cast a drying charm and a warming charm on me as soon as I get out, ok?" Hermione nodded in agreement and Harry started to walk into the lake, shivering a little at the cold water. When he was in up to his waist he dove in and began swimming to where he had last seen the egg. The water in this part of the lake was very murky making it impossible for him to see very far, so Harry had to do most of his searching with his hands. After about a minute under water Harry had to come up for air. When he did he realized that he should be able to find the golden egg if he moved about ten feet further from the shore. Taking one last breath, Harry dove back under the water and swam to where he expected the egg to be. Finally, his hand hit something cold and metal. Grabbing the egg by the latch on its top, Harry bent down to kick off the lake bed when suddenly the egg shifted in his hands. As the latch turned and the sides dropped open Harry was shocked to hear not the ungodly shrieking he was used to but a pleasant sounding voice singing.

'This is it! It's the clue!' Harry realized before turning his attention back to the egg. He stayed at the bottom long enough for the egg to be repeated before finally rising to the surface. As soon as he was able to refill his lungs with air he looked towards Hermione and yelled "I did it, Hermione! I figured out what the clue is!" He quickly swam back over to the shore and and ran to where Hermione was waiting to magically dry and warm him.

"Ok, now explain yourself." his friend demanded.

"You have to listen to the egg underwater, that's the only way to understand it. I never even thought about doing that, Hermione. I just got really lucky."

"So what does it say?" she asked.

Harry thought for a moment, making sure he remembered it correctly, and then began:

"_Come seek us where our voices sound,  
We cannot sing above the ground.  
And while you're searching ponder this:  
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,  
An hour long you'll have to look,  
And to recover what we took  
But past an hour - the prospect's black  
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back_"

Hermione's face scrunched up in concentration, trying to determine the meaning behind the clue. "Harry, I think they are talking about the Merpeople in the lake." she said after a few moments thought.

"That's what I thought, too. So the Merpeople are going to take something from me and I will have an hour to look for it. Meaning we need to figure out how I am going to stay underwater for an hour and not die." Hermione nodded and walked over to a rock that was about as tall as her waist. Pulling herself up, she sat and the look of concentration came back to her. Harry, knowing that determined look, smiled and sat down next to her. "I guess I could always use scuba gear, right Hermione?" Harry joked. Hermione turned and looked at him as if he had suddenly sprouted another head.

"Harry I am pretty sure the point of the tournament is to complete the tasks using magic. Although, perhaps if you were able to transfigure something into scuba gear..."

"I was joking, you know." Harry replied, to which Hermione merely shrugged. "The second task isn't until February 24, so we have over two months to figure this out. That's quite a bit better than last time, I'm sure by then we will be experts at underwater magic."

"Hopefully so. That reminds me, how were you able to cast that Incendio for so long? And how did you make the flames so big?" she asked, intrigued by her friend's abilities.

"It's just a matter of focus and putting all of the power you can into it. I think I may be a bit stronger in that category than average. It's not normal that a thirteen year old could not only cast the Patronus charm but to do it strong enough to drive of dozens of dementors, is it. Plus, I've been working on my magic a lot recently." he said casually, as if he had not been spending almost all of his free time working on it.

"Do you think I could practice with you, Harry?" she asked hopefully. Harry frowned a bit, not ready for Hermione to learn about his secret lessons with Daphne.

"Let's wait until after Christmas, if you're still interested then let me know." Harry finally said, deciding that it was a good enough solution to the problem because by then Hermione would have already seen Harry and Daphne together at the Yule Ball. Hermione nodded in agreement, looking forward to learning new things alongside Harry. Harry wondered how Hermione and Daphne would act around each other, once his big secret was out in the open. He hoped they would be friendly because he didn't want to have to choose between them if he didn't have to. If he did have to choose though, he asked himself, which one would he choose? At the beginning of the year it would have easily been Hermione, but things had changed. Harry was amazed that in a few short months someone could become so important to him, but it had happened. So much had changed, he wondered where he would be if it weren't for Daphne's influence and friendship. 'Worse off' he decided.

"Let's go inside, Hermione. It's getting cold out here, but maybe I just feel that way because I jumped in the lake a few minutes ago." Hermione laughed at him, noting that he did indeed still look cold.

"Ok, but can I borrow your egg for a while? I would like to hear the clue for myself. Then maybe I should go down to the library and start looking up underwater charms, I think I know a good book to start with..."

"You can have the egg on one condition: take the night off. I promise you we will work on this soon. Why don't you go hang out with that mystery date of yours?" Harry asked with a grin. He had already begun to walk off when he said it so he could barely hear Hermione's annoyed response.

* * *

That night Harry excitedly told Daphne about how he had opened the egg and what the clue was. She agreed with his and Hermione's assessment that the Merpeople were going to hide something of his under the lake. Unfortunately, she also didn't know of a spell that could be used to breathe underwater. Daphne also told him of her sister's sudden interest in what she was doing with her time. Harry fully expected to be interrogated by the younger Greengrass when she did find out who Daphne's date was. Luckily, they both thought, no one else had any idea that they were going to the Yule Ball together. A few girls had asked Harry if he had a date yet, apparently him being a Triwizard champion was enough to make up for the fact that he was a future dark lord, but he had politely told every one that he already had a date.

And so the winter break began and the anticipation for the upcoming Ball grew. Most years the castle was nearly empty during the holidays, but this year almost everyone stayed so that they could attend the Yule Ball. At Daphne's request Harry had added ballroom dancing to their training. In the beginning he was absolutely dreadful at it, which Daphne discovered in the way of several stepped on toes. Daphne, who was expected to be able to dance due to pureblood customs, was slowly able to bring his performance up to an acceptable level. Two days before the Yule Ball she finally deemed him ready, saying that he might not embarass them both. Harry had been so busy that it wasn't until the day before the ball that the realization that he had never been on a date before and had no idea what to do really struck him. Part of him thought he was less nervous about facing the dragon, at least then he had a plan. He spent the rest of the night trying to calm himself down, and was mostly able to as he finally went to bed hoping that this Christmas would be one that he would happily remember.

* * *

Author's Note:

Just in case some of you got the wrong impression, I don't plan on bashing Dumbledore. I think he has good intentions, but the way he handles things leaves a lot to be desired. This may or may not become a bigger issue as the story progresses, you'll just have to wait and see. Next chapter we finally get to the Yule Ball, how will things change? You will find out soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Christmas morning Harry was suddenly woken up by a heavy weight falling on his chest. His arm immediately darted out to grasp his wand, which he had set on his bedside table. A moment after he had the wand pointed at the object laying on him his eyes began to focus and even without his glasses he was able to recognize the blurry shape.

"Dobby? What are you doing?" he asked, setting his wand down and reaching for his glasses. The little house elf was staring at him and bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Dobby wanted to be the first to tell you Merry Christmas, Harry Potter sir." Dobby squealed happily. "Dobby had to be early before someone else did it!" By now Harry's roommates were beginning to wake up at the commotion being caused by the happy elf. He could hear several groggy voices asking "What's that noise?" and "What time is it?"

"Sorry guys, it's just Dobby. Go back to sleep. It's not even six o'clock yet." Harry said. Neville nodded and went to lay back down, but the others didn't seem to think that was a good idea.

"No way." Seamus replied, "It's Christmas morning and I am going to open my presents." Harry sighed, guessing that he was just going to have to wake up. Dobby finally moved off his chest, allowing him to sit up and move to the foot of the bed where he could see his roommates already starting to open their presents. Harry went to reach for a box decorated with a bright red bow which he guessed was his annual sweater from Mrs Weasley when he was suddenly stopped.

"Mine first, Harry Potter sir." Dobby commanded, handing him a small bag covered in brightly colored ribbons. Harry slowly began to untie the ribbons and when he finally got it open pulled out two mismatched sox that appeared to have been hand knitted. "I made them all by myself!" Dobby commented proudly. Harry looked back at the socks, noting that not only were they different colors but different sizes as well.

"Thanks Dobby. These are really... great." Harry smiled at the elf who was now crying tears of joy, thrilled that Harry liked his gift. He felt a little guilty that Dobby had gone to so much trouble and he had not even bothered to get a gift for him. Then, an idea struck him and he reached into his trunk and pulled out a single sock who had long ago lost its mate. "In fact, I got you something too. Merry Christmas, Dobby." Dobby pulled the sock out of Harry's hands and then threw himself at Harry, his little arms hugging as tightly as they could.

"Harry Potter is too kind! Dobby will treasure this forever, sir!" Harry noticed that the rest of his roommates were now looking at him and the elf trying to hold back laughter. Even Ron, who had done his best to avoid even looking at Harry, had a smile on his face.

"You're welcome, I'm just glad you liked it." Dobby thanked him again and then left the room, saying that he was needed back in the kitchens. Harry turned back to his presents and found that the box he had been looking at did indeed contain a sweater from Mrs Weasley. He felt relieved that she had not listened to the foolishness being printed in the Daily Prophet and wasn't holding the troubles between himself and Ron against him. Harry stopped opening presents and took a moment to watch his roommates, all happily opening presents from family and friends. Ron was opening a package that contained a sweater that looked much like the one he had received, while Neville was tearing open a present from him that contained a rare Herbology book he was able to owl order from the bookstore in Diagon Alley. Harry was enjoying the scene before him when he noticed Ron looking at him strangely.

"Harry?" his old friend asked, holding up a hat with the logo of Ron's favorite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons, on it. Harry had felt uncertain whether or not he wanted to get Ron anything, but eventually decided to. He still hoped that one day they could be friends again. Ron had not given him anything, but Harry wasn't expecting him to.

"Merry Christmas, Ron." he answered simply. Ron nodded his head while muttering a very quiet "Thanks" and set the present down in the pile containing the rest of his gifts. Fifteen minutes later all of the presents had been opened and his roommates were discussing whether or not to go back to sleep. Ron and Neville, who never really wanted to wake up in the first place, were already back in bed. Harry got up and left Dean and Seamus to argue with each other about what to do next. He had the feeling that this was going to be a long and eventful day.

* * *

A few hours later Harry was enjoying breakfast in the Great Hall. The house elves always try to make meals on Christmas special, and this was no exception. The tables were stacked high with a huge variety of foods and treats. Harry was happily eating and chatting with Hermione and Neville, who had finally decided to get out of bed.

"Neither of you are being fair to me," Neville complained, "You both know that I am going with Ginny Weasley, but neither of you will tell me who you are going with." Neville dropped his fork and stared at his friends, waiting for one of them to finally reveal their secrets. "If I didn't know better I would think... that's it isn't it?! You two are going to the Yule Ball together. It makes sense now, but I don't understand why you would think you needed to hide it from everybody." Harry and Hermione both began laughing and shaking their heads at Neville's guess.

"That's not it at all." Harry answered. "I promise you that I am not taking Hermione to the Yule Ball. In fact she hasn't told me who she is going with either."

"Don't whine about me not telling you, I don't know who you are taking." Hermione retorted.

"I've said all along that you were both going to have to wait and see. I will tell you this though; you are going to be very surprised with who it is." Harry smiled at his friends' frustration. Hermione saw Harry's satisfaction with himself, and decided to get even.

"Gee, Neville, who do you think would be the most surprising person Harry could take to the Ball?" Hermione asked with a mischevious grin.

"Maybe he is taking Professor McGonagall." Neville answered, both of them trying their best not to even look at Harry while they continued their conversation.

"No, I can think of someone more surprising than that. Harry is taking Professor Snape to the Ball!" At this Hermione and Neville began laughing loudly while Harry watched angrily, but eventually even he had to admit it was funny and began to smile.

"A hundred points from Gryffindor for being prats!" Harry said in his best Snape impression. All three of them continued laughing, as well as the people sitting close enough to them to hear the conversation. After taunting Harry a few more times the topics returned to the normal Christmas ones such as what presents they had all gotten. Hermione once again thanked Harry for his gift: a fifty galleon gift certificate to Flourish & Blotts.

Hermione's thank-you's were interrupted when dozens of owls flew into the Great Hall. Almost everyone had received a letter from their families wishing them a Merry Christmas. Harry was surprised when an owl he didn't recognize landed on the table in front of him and held out its leg, waiting for Harry to pull the letter off. Curious about whom it could be from, Harry took the letter and gave the owl a piece of bacon in thanks. As the owl hooted and flew off Harry opened the letter, happily realizing that it was from Sirius.

"_Merry Christmas Harry!_

_I wish I could be there with you, but until we find Wormtail I have to stay on the run._

_On the bright side we are working on finding a place for you to stay for part of the_

_summer so you won't have to spend it all with those relatives of yours. It still makes_

_me angry to think that someone as wonderful as Lily could have a sister so dreadful._

_Congratulations on getting past the Horntail! Perhaps not the method I would have_

_thought of but it certainly did work. Don't let those idiots who think your talents are_

_evil bother you, Harry. You are growing up to be a fine young man and I know your_

_parents would be proud of you. I know I am._

_Good luck on the rest of the tournament. Remember to keep your eyes open and be_

_on guard at all times. If you think someone is acting suspicious let me know and we_

_can talk about it. You can now mail me if you want, but don't send Hedwig because_

_she is too easily recognizable. Take care of yourself, Harry._

_Love, Sirius_"

Harry read the letter a couple of times, pleased to hear that his Godfather was still safe. He wondered where Sirius was hiding this Christmas and hoped it was somewhere warm. Harry felt a bit of hope rising up inside him when he remembered that Sirius was working on finding him a place to stay at other than the Dursley's, that would be an excellent present. He had been silently thinking about the letter for a few minutes when he realized Hermione was looking at him curiously.

"The letter was from Si- Padfoot. He seems to be doing ok." Harry said. Hermione smiled, knowing how attached Harry was to his godfather.

"That's great Harry. What are you going to do for the rest of the day?"

"I think I'll go see Hagrid. Do you want to come?"

"No thanks." Hermione answered. "I've got some things to do and then I really do need to get ready for the Yule Ball." Harry was a little bit confused, just how long did it take for a girl to get ready for something like this? He had just planned on putting his dress robes on and spending a few minutes trying to get his hair to lay down, which he already knew would not be successful. Harry shrugged and decided he didn't really want to know what went into a girl's preparations for a Ball. Taking one last drink of pumpkin juice, Harry said a few quick good-byes and walked out of the Great Hall.

* * *

Harry spent the next few hours with Hagrid, who was surprised but very happy that Harry wanted to spend Christmas day with him. As the hours passed Hagrid seemed to be getting more and more nervous. Harry asked why and Hagrid confided that he had a bit of a crush on Madam Maxine, the Beauxbatons Headmistress. Harry smiled at his large friend's secret and wished him good luck. Hagrid then proudly showed him his outfit for the Yule Ball, which inluded a ridiculous tie that he seemed to be quite proud of. Harry assured him that Madame Maxine would love it before leaving for lunch.

After lunch Harry ended up on the third floor in the classroom he had unofficially taken over. He couldn't will himself to be interested in what he was doing however, because his mind kept drifting off to thoughts about what the night would bring. After tonight he would finally be free to talk to Daphne in public, something so basic it angered him that they were not already able to do it. In many ways, everything would change tonight and not just for him but for Daphne's family as well. Harry had wanted to tell his friends who he was going to the Yule Ball with for a long time, but Daphne had persuaded him not to. She did this not just because it would make things easier on her but so that her family could have time to ensure that they would be protected (physically, politically, and financially) if someone decided to threaten them because of their actions. Harry was still astounded that all this trouble was going to be caused by him taking Daphne to the Yule Ball, an event that in any sane world would not be a problem at all. 'Then again,' he thought, 'my world hasn't ever been sane.'

Finally it got late enough for Harry to decide to go get ready. He had bought new dress robes, as Daphne had suggested, and thought he looked pretty good in them. Far better than Ron would look in those frilly old robes his mom sent him at least. For fifteen minutes he tried to do something with his hair, but it was useless. His hair had a mind of its own and there was nothing Harry could do about that. 'Not even cutting it off would work' he thought, remember a time when he was younger and his aunt had tried just that. Finally satisfied that he wasn't going to be able to make himself look any better, Harry left the Gryffindor common room and headed towards the Yule Ball.

* * *

The four champions and their dates were supposed to meet in a room adjacent to the Great Hall ten minutes before the ball started. This was so they could go over last minute instructions on their roles and to answer any questions that they might have. Harry arrived a few minutes early to find that the only champion there was Cedric Diggory and his date, Cho Chang.

"Hi Cedric, Cho." Harry said as he walked towards them. The couple turned and smiled brightly at Harry, each giving him a small wave. Harry looked at Cho and noted that his earlier comment about her being pretty wasn't entirely accurate. She was, in fact, beautiful. He felt no jealousy towards Cedric because of this though, he was actually happy for them both. It was obvious that they liked each other quite a bit.

"Hey Harry. Where's your date?" Cedric asked, turning his head to look around the room.

"On her way. I offered to pick her up but she said she would meet me here. Something about 'making a grand entrance'." Cedric laughed in response, and then got a serious look on his face as if an idea had just struck him. He glanced around to make sure they could not be heard and then leaned towards Harry.

"I still owe you for helping me out on the first task, Harry. If you get stuck trying to figure out the clue you ought to consider taking a bath. In fact, use the prefect's bath. The password is 'pine fresh', just remember to take your egg with you." he said, still smiling at Harry. Harry grinned in response, having already figured out the clue.

"_'Come and seek us where our voices sound...'_" Harry replied. Cedric eyes shot open in surprise, recognizing the first line of the clue.

"You've already figured it out then. Amazing." he said in a slightly awed voice.

"Well you obviously did too, Cedric. How'd you figure it out? I did it on accident after I kicked the egg into the lake. It was more luck than anything else."

"I'm probably not supposed to tell anyone this, but it probably won't hurt for you to know. I didn't actually figure it out on my own. Professor Moody kept me after class last week and told me to take a bath with the egg. I thought he was crazy until I tried it and it worked. Actually, he probably still is crazy but that's not the point. I would still be clueless if it weren't for him." Cedric admitted. Harry nodded, wondering why Professor Moody would help Cedric out this time but not before the first task.

"Thanks anyway, Cedric. I hope one of us wins." Cedric nodded in agreement and the three began to chat about their expectations for the ball when the doors opened and Fleur Delacour walked in, escorted by a Hogwarts seventh year that Harry recognized but could not name. Her date was staring at her trying not to drool on himself, obviously entranced by her Veela charms. Harry felt a slight pull from the charm, causing him to suddenly think about how attractive the Beauxbaton's champion was, but nothing more. Harry looked over at Cedric who was forcing himself to look away, apparently aware of the effects of the Veela charm. For whatever reason, Fleur's Veela powers were especially strong tonight. Cho seemed to understand what was happening, because she simply laughed.

"It's ok Cedric, I know it isn't your fault." she reassured him.

"I'm just annoyed that Harry doesn't seem to be having any trouble with it at all." Cedric answered.

"I feel it, just not as strong as other people I guess. I heard that she had guys throwing themselves at her feet, begging her to go the ball with them. Some people can't fight it." Harry explained, grateful for his natural resistance that enabled him to not make a fool of himself.

"Yeah, I saw your friend Weasley do just that." Cho added, not knowing that Ron and Harry weren't exactly friends anymore. Harry did not bother to correct her. Moments later their attention was again drawn to the opening door to see Viktor Krum walk in with a pretty girl in a blue dress. It took Harry's brain a few seconds to register what he was seeing. Hermione was Viktor Krum's date. She had managed to tame her bushy hair, Harry assumed she used magic to do so.

"Hermione?" Harry said, a little uncertainly. Hermione smiled and dragged her date over to where Harry, Cedric, and Cho were standing. Harry's mouth was still open from the shock of seeing how attractive his friend looked. "You look great, Hermione." The rest of the school was going to be in for a surprise when she walked in.

"Thank you, Harry. Harry, I want you to meet Viktor. Viktor, this is Harry Potter, Cedric Diggory, and Cho Chang." she said, introducing everyone.

"Hello. It is very nice to meet you." Krum said a bit uncertainly, then looked towards Hermione who was smiling and nodding. The others all said hello to Krum and the two champions shook his hand.

"That was great, Viktor!" Hermione said proudly. "English isn't his first language, but he is getting much better at it." Krum nodded then turned towards Harry with a very serious look on his face.

"Potter," he began, "I vant you to know that I vould never use Herm-eye-ninny's friendship against you in the tournament." It took Krum a while to get the sentence out completely, especially when he came to Hermione's name. Harry nodded, understanding what the Bulgarian was trying to say.

"Thank you, but I didn't think Hermione would tell you anything I wouldn't want her to." Harry answered. Hermione rushed over and hugged Harry, having obviously been worried about how he would react. Krum looked happy that Harry wasn't angry at Hermione, but a little upset that she was hugging him. Harry inwardly laughed a little and guided Hermione back to Krum's side.

"So Harry, now you know who my date is. Where is yours?" Hermione asked.

"I thought she would be here by now. She's -" Harry paused, seeing the door begin to open. "Here."

At this everyone turned to look towards the door as Daphne walked in. Her dress was black and silver, made from the finest materials, and fit her perfectly. Harry rushed towards the door to meet her, the whole time wearing a silly grin on his face. As he led Daphne over to the group Hermione let out a small gasp when she finally recognized who Harry's date was. Harry's eyes had not left Daphne since she came in, and she was also smiling brightly at her date.

"You look amazing. I mean, really... uhh... wow." Harry stammered, trying to think of the right thing to say. Apparently what he said was close enough because she gave him a small hug and took his hand as they approached the group. "Everybody, this is Daphne Greengrass..." Harry said and began introducing everyone. The whole time Hermione was looking back and forth at Harry and Daphne with a look of suspicion on her face.

"I wasn't aware that you two knew each other." Hermione stated, practically begging them to explain what was going on.

"Oh yes," Daphne answered, "we've known each other since first year. Isn't that right?" She looked at Harry who nodded in agreement, causing Hermione's look of suspicion to deepen. Harry, seeing what Daphne was doing to Hermione, was trying not to laugh. The rest of the group could feel the tension in the air and was looking at the three a bit nervously.

"That's right. She's been a good friend to me when I've needed it, Hermione, especially this year." Harry replied. Hermione grimaced a bit at his comment, but nodded anyway. Harry was watching her, trying to judge how his friend would react to the revelation. Hermione seemed to be processing the new information, unsure of what to do. Finally, she made her decision.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Hermione said, turning to look directly at Daphne. "I hope that any friend of Harry's could be a friend of mine." Harry smiled, breathing a small sigh of relief. The tension in the room relaxed a little.

"Of course." Daphne answered. "We both know he needs all the friends looking out for him he can get." Harry's smile dropped a little as he noticed the two girls turn his attention towards him and wondered when he had become the focus of the conversation. He looked to Cedric, hoping for a little help but his fellow champion was laughing.

"Right, I tend to do crazy things." Harry said with a shrug. He sensed that though Hermione had accepted his relationship with Daphne, she still wasn't entirely comfortable with it. Daphne, on the other hand, was trying to be friendly because she knew it would make the situation easier on the both of them. He would just have to hope things turned out for the best.

"So you're the one who has been helping Harry with the tournament this whole time." Hermione realized. "He accidently let it slip that someone other than Neville or myself was helping him but would never say who."

"Yeah, she is even the one who suggested trying to talk to the dragon. I thought the idea was nuts." Harry replied.

"But you were the one who went through with it and even let the dragon get close enough to lick you." Daphne reminded him. Harry shrugged and didn't argue with her point. Hermione was watching them interact with each other, trying to determine how close they actually were to each other.

"Harry, what did you say to that dragon?" Cedric asked. "Everyone wanted to know but you never really said anything about it." The question had gotten Krum's attention as well.

"Don't believe that nonsense about me ordering the dragon around. I just pointed out that one of the eggs wasn't real and asked if I could take it." Those who hadn't heard the story laughed, surprised that it worked out as well for him as it did.

"Attention please!" Professor McGonagall called as she walked in the room. She briefly looked at the couples and Harry could see the brief flash of surprise when she saw Daphne at his side. "Now that you are all here we can begin. You will all exit that door which will take you out into the Great Hall. Since this afternoon it has been enlarged and decorated to fit our purposes. Once you are all on the dance floor the music will start and the first dance will begin. When you finish you will be directed to a table at the front of the room where you will all sit together, joined by a few others. Any questions? No? Very well, line up. Ms Delacour, you will be first. Then Mr Diggory, followed by Mr Krum, and finally Mr Potter with Ms Greengrass. Good luck everyone, and do try to have a good time." Professor McGonagall then left out the door she had previously pointed to, leaving it open for the champions and their dates to walk out of. They could all hear the murmuring from the crowd of students that were waiting on the other side of the door, and each felt a little bit nervous though they tried not to show it. As asked, Fleur Delacour and her date walked out first. The awaiting crowd immediately burst into applause which continued as Cedric and Cho linked arms and walked out the door.

"Are you ready for this?" Harry quietly asked Daphne, offering her his arm as he had seen the others do. As he did, Krum and Hermione had entered the Great Hall and loud gasps could be heard in the applause as people realized that the pretty girl in the blue dress was the Gryffindor bookworm.

"Let's go." Daphne said in response as they headed towards the exit. Once into the Great Hall Harry first noticed that it did indeed look a lot bigger than normal. The long tables that were normally there had been removed and replaced with dozens of circular tables that could fit about twelve people each. A dance floor had been erected in front of the stage, and the other three couples were already there waiting on them. Initially, the crowd continued to cheer as Harry and Daphne made their way to the stage. Then people began to notice who Harry's date was and the applause began to lessen as the students began to talk amongst themselves in an excited fashion. By the time they reached the dance floor the clapping had died off completely, and for the most part the talking had stopped as well as people openly stared at the couple.

Harry put an arm around Daphne preparing for the dance to begin and leaned in to whisper to her: "They're speechless. I told you that you looked good." Daphne chuckled at his compliment and made sure they were both in place for the dance. The music began softly, but as the couples began to move it seemed to swell and the tempo increased. Every eye was on the dancing champions, though most were on Harry Potter and his Slytherin date. He could sometimes hear parts of their conversations, most of which referenced articles from the Daily Prophet or the accusation that all Slytherins were evil. The most amusing ones came from the female population who were quite obviously jealous of Daphne. Harry attempted to block out the distractions and focus on what he was doing, desperate not to step on Daphne's toes or make a similar public mistake. So far he was doing a good job, at least he thought so.

Minutes later the dance ended and the crowd began to applaud again. Daphne leaned towards Harry and told him did excellent before they walked over to the table that McGonagall had discussed. Seated there were the other champions and their dates, Professor Dumbledore, Madame Maxine, Igor Karkaroff, and strangely Percy Weasley. Percy motioned for Harry to take a seat next to him but Harry acted like he didn't notice and sat at the other end of the table with Daphne on one side and Hermione on the other. Menus were presented to them and Harry was surprised to see that all he had to do to order was to call out the name of the food and it would appear in front of him. He ordered and was pleased to see his food appear in front of him just as he wanted it to.

During dinner the conversations around the table stayed on what seemed to be safe topics. Percy was apparently here representing Barty Crouch, his boss, who had been feeling ill. Harry noticed that Percy had turned into a blatant brown noser and decided to ignore him for the rest of the evening, glad that he had not taken the seat next to him. Daphne was sitting next to Cho Chang, and the two girls seemed to be getting along nicely. Slytherin and Ravenclaw thankfully did not suffer from the rivalry that Slytherin and Gryffindor did. Harry turned towards Dumbledore and noticed the old professor was looking at him and Daphne with an amused look on his face.

"Harry, I am glad to see that you are doing your part to promote friendship between the houses. As you may have been aware, Gryffindors and Slytherins have not always been the best of friends." Dumbledore said, drastically understating the feud between the two houses. Curious about what the Headmaster thought, Harry was watching him for any sign that he disapproved of his decision to take Daphne to the Yule Ball but could not find any.

"Thank you sir, I'm quite happy with how it turned out." Harry said, now noticing that Daphne had been listening to his talk with Dumbledore. She smiled at him and then looked towards Dumbledore, wondering if he would say anything to her, but instead the Professor turned to face Madam Maxine and began to chat with her.

The dance floor began to fill with couples who had finished their meals. Noticing that Daphne had stopped eating, Harry asked her if she would like to dance. Daphne smiled and agreed and they walked hand in hand to begin dancing. The other couples seemed to automatically back away from them and make room, not that Harry minded. Harry's nervousness from the first dance had vanished now that they were not one of only four couples dancing. The current song was quite a bit slower, and Harry instinctually pulled her closer. He was pleased to see her smile when he did. For that moment Harry didn't care what anyone in the world said or thought because there was nowhere he would rather be. Unfortunately, their moment was about to be disturbed. They were in the middle of their third dance when Harry felt someone tapping on his shoulder. Turning to look he was met with the angry face of his roommate and former friend, Ron Weasley.

"Can I help you, Ron?" Harry asked, wondering why he was being interrupted.

"Yeah! You can tell me what you're doing with her." Ron answered, pointing at Daphne who was quickly getting upset.

"I'm dancing. I think it would be best if you left us alone now." Harry replied, trying to avoid making a scene but knowing Ron was likely to start one.

"She's a Slytherin! You can't trust any of them." the red head yelled, loud enough to get the attention of everyone on the dance floor. Harry's temper finally got the better of him and he was about to yell back a response when Daphne spoke up, cutting him off.

"No Weasley, the one he can't trust is you! You were the one who turned your back on who was supposed to be your best friend when he needed you the most. I was there for him when you weren't. And I will not let some jealous fool like you insult me or say otherwise. Turn around and walk off or I will make you regret it." Daphne commanded. At some point, Harry noticed, she had taken out her wand and was grasping it tightly. From the angry look on her face Harry could tell she was only moments away from cursing Ron. He lightly put his hand on her arm hoping hoping she would wait a moment before casting a spell.

"Go now, or I won't stop her." Harry said, glaring at his former friend. Ron looked at them both angrily, and then stormed off back towards where he had come from. Daphne was still fuming; a little angry that Harry had stopped her from casting some of the nasty spells that had come to mind when Ron had interrupted them. Harry quickly realized that they were not going to be able to just finish their dance because all of the people around them had stopped to watch the argument. Even though Ron had left they were still being stared at.

"Let's go outside and get some air, ok?" Harry suggested. Daphne nodded and held his hand as they walked outside to the garden that had been specially prepared for the Ball. A few people were already in the garden, but not nearly as many as were inside. Those couples that had come outside mostly seemed to be concerned only with each other as well. Finding an empty bench in a spot where he hoped they would not be disturbed, Harry sat down and motioned for Daphne to join him. For a few minutes that sat silently, allowing them both to calm down a little. Harry's anger was already a bit overwhelmed from the happiness he felt knowing that Daphne cared enough to defend him, even if it was just from Ron's moronic insults.

"You know I really do appreciate you standing up for me, but shouldn't it be my responsibility to defend you?" Harry eventually asked. "I am the guy after all, I thought that was supposed to be my role." His remark finally got her to smile a little, which was exactly what he wanted.

"Probably, but I didn't want you having all the fun cursing Weasley."

"My first reaction was actually to punch him in the nose, but your idea was probably better. That reminds me, where were you keeping your wand in that dress?" Harry's question finally got her to laugh.

"That's one of those secrets witches don't tell wizards." she replied, drawing a laugh out of Harry. They both relaxed after that and sat back on the bench enjoying the night and each other's company. Harry's arm was resting on the top of the bench behind Daphne, allowing her to lean in to him. He briefly wondered if they were being missed inside but quickly decided he liked where he was at just fine. Neither of them made any effort to move from where they were sitting.

Minutes later their peace was once again disrupted, this time by two people arguing who seemed to be headed their way. Harry quickly recognized one voice as belonging to Professor Snape and the other, foreign sounding voice belonged to Igor Karkaroff. Neither of the two men seemed to be aware that Harry and Daphne could hear them.

"Severus, you see it just as I do. The mark is growing darker every day." they overheard Karkaroff saying.

"Perhaps so. What will you do then, flee?"

"Maybe. And you?"

"I will stay here, where I am protected. If you run they will find you, Igor. You must know that." Snape warned the other man.

"We'll see." Karkaroff said before walking off. Professor Snape didn't move for a moment, apparently thinking about the conversation. As he turned to walk off he finally noticed Harry and Daphne, cuddled together on the bench and looking at him with interested expressions on their faces. Snape knew they had heard him, but decided it was best not to mention his discussion at all.

"Ah, Ms Greengrass. I find myself disappointed with your apparent lack of taste." the potions professor said while scowling at Harry. Daphne knew better than to challenge her head of house when he was in a bad mood and said nothing. Harry decided to follow her lead and choked back the angry response that had come to mind. Seeing that they were not going to argue with him, Snape scowled one last time and turned to walk back towards the Ball.

"What do you think that was about?" Harry asked when Snape was finally out of sight. Daphne seemed to be concentrating on something.

"Did you hear Karkaroff say 'the mark is growing darker'? I wonder if he meant the dark mark. It would make sense, they were both Death Eaters."

"Snape was a Death Eater?" Harry asked with surprise. He had always believed his professor was evil, but he did not know he had followed Voldemort. It certainly changed the way he looked at the man.

"Of course he was, you didn't know that?" Daphne asked. "I thought everyone did, but maybe that is just a Slytherin thing. They say that after the Dark Lord disappeared Dumbledore began telling everyone who would listen that Snape had been his spy during the war. Not everyone believed it, but it was enough to keep Snape out of Azkaban. They let Karkaroff go because he named a bunch of other Death Eaters after he got caught."

"Oh, I never knew." Harry answered, taking in the new information. "It sounded like they were both scared, would they be like that just because their mark was getting darker?"

"Who knows? I guess I better tell my father this in my next letter. Maybe he will know what it means." Daphne replied. "Do you want to go back in?"

"Sure, if you want to." Daphne nodded and they walked inside where a band called the Weird Sisters was now playing. Harry had never heard of them, but their music sounded somewhat like a muggle rock band. The rest of their night passed relatively calmly, much to Harry's relief. In the remaining hours they talked to various people and to just each other or danced along with the rest of the students. Sometimes people looked at them oddly, as if not knowing what to make of the Gryffindor / Slytherin couple, but for the most part they were left alone. Harry wondered how much of that was a result of Daphne's threats towards Ron earlier in the night.

Finally the party was coming to an end and it was time for them to leave. Only a few couples were left on the dance floor and the band had announced their last song. A few house elves could be seen beginning to clean up what was left of the food and drinks. Most of the professors had left and those that remained were constantly checking the time, eager to make the students go back to their dorms so they could go to bed. Sensing the ball was now over, Harry offered to walk Daphne back to her common room and she agreed.

"I don't think the reactions we got were that bad." Harry said as they walked towards the the Slytherin dungeons.

"Not tonight no, but just wait until the shock wears off. If the next week passes without anyone trying to call you evil because of this then I will be relieved. But I doubt that will happen." Harry shrugged, deciding to wait and see.

"On the bright side, I didn't see Rita Skeeter there so maybe this won't end up in the Daily Prophet."

"Neither did I, but that doesn't mean she wasn't there. She always seems to be where she is least wanted." Harry nodded in agreement. Soon they were at the entrance of the Slytherin common room.

"So what is it going to be like for you in there?" Harry asked, still worried about her safety.

"I will be fine tonight, assuming my little sister is already asleep. If not I will be attacked five seconds after I walk inside." Harry chuckled; knowing that her sister would only be tossing questions Daphne's way. Tonight had changed a lot for both of them, but they would not find out how much in some ways until later.

"This was fun, I'm glad you said yes." Harry finally said, unsure of what to do now that the date was ending. They were still holding hands with her head leaning on his shoulder, and Harry was reluctant to let her go.

"It was, I'm glad you asked." Daphne replied. Harry smiled and, after gathering up all of the courage he could muster, turned his head towards hers and softly kissed her on the lips. Her hesitation only lasted for a moment before she returned the kiss. When they finally pulled apart they were wearing almost identical happy grins. With one last hug Daphne let go and walked towards the door, but before she went in she turned and said: "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Daphne" he answered, still smiling. Once she was through the door Harry turned and began his walk back to the Gryffindor dorms, thinking to himself that it had been a pretty good night after all.

* * *

Author's Note:

So there you go, the Yule Ball has come and gone. This chapter was a little bit longer than the others but there was more to cover. It seems that Ron was destined to be a jerk on this night, only in this case he got to Harry before he could get to Hermione. Next chapter Harry and Daphne face the aftermath.

Thanks once again for all of the encouragement. It really is great to hear that people are enjoying this story. A few have asked if I plan on continuing this past fourth year and the answer is I had not planned to but the story seems to have grown to the point where it almost demanding I continue. There are still a few surprises left for this year though so stay tuned.

Another question I got was how powerful is Harry, especially after Hermione's comments about his ability to cast the Incendio spell. My take on things is that it took all of his strength and concentration to hold the spell for three minutes, but someone like Dumbledore or Voldemort could cast the spell all day long while juggling chainsaws with the other hand if they wanted to. Harry's definitely strong for his age, but he has a long way to go before he could match Voldemort's power.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning Harry awoke in a good mood, the events of the previous night still fresh on his mind. Checking the time, he realized that he had slept later than he normally did. Although from the sounds of his roommates' snores he guessed he was not the only one. He wasn't at all surprised by that. The Yule Ball lasted until late into the night and for those who were eager to continue the fun a couple of unofficial after parties had been thrown. Harry had decided against attending any of those and so even though he was the last of his roommates to leave the Ball he was still the first one back to the room.

Harry had slept too late to make it to breakfast, so he decided to make a quick stop by the kitchens and pick up a snack before heading out to the Quidditch pitch. The urge to spend the morning flying on his Firebolt had hit him strongly as he was getting out of bed and since he had nothing else planned it seemed like a great idea. If he had thought about it, he might have realized that all of his actions that morning were solitary as if he wanted to avoid everyone. However that thought had not occurred to him.

Harry walked out the doors of the Quidditch locker rooms and immediately realized something was very wrong with the pitch. The goal posts had all been pulled down at some point in the last couple of days and the grass had been ripped up as well, exposing the dark brown dirt below. He knew there was no reason to keep the pitch as is since there would be no Quidditch that year but the destruction of the place he enjoyed so much disturbed him. Harry gazed at the field for a few minutes, sadly wishing that he had never heard of the Triwizard Tournament. Pushing thoughts of the ruined field away, Harry mounted his broom and began to fly. He had worried that with no Quidditch practice his skills would fade, but apparently all of those people who claimed he was a natural on a broom had a point. For the next few hours Harry pushed the broom to its top speeds and forced it into tight turns that would have hurled most riders off of the broom and down onto the ground below.

Harry ended his morning flight when he noticed that it was time for lunch, he was in no mood to miss two meals in a row. Landing by the door to the locker rooms Harry took one last look at the field, wondering what reason Dumbledore could have possibly had for tearing it apart. Shaking his head at the situation, Harry turned around and went inside. When he reached the Great Hall he saw that it was now back to its original configuration. All evidence of the Yule Ball from the night before had been completely removed by the house elves. A quick glance towards the Gryffindor table revealed that neither Neville nor Hermione were there, however Ron was. Looking towards the Slytherin table he saw that Daphne was there and had noticed him walking into the room. She also happened to have an empty seat in front of her...

"Good morning, Daphne." he said, sitting down at the table across from her. The hall was mostly empty, in fact he didn't see any of the other Slytherin fourth years, but the Slytherins that did see him sit at their table began to excitedly talk to each other while trying to decide whether or not to do anything about.

"You realize this may be the first time in decades that a Gryffindor has tried to eat at the Slytherin table?" she asked, although from her smile she obviously thought it was funny too.

"Really? I guess there is a first time for everything then. So was your sister as bad as you thought she would be?"

"I spent three hours answering her questions this morning." Daphne said. "In the end she said I should tell anyone who had a problem with me to 'piss off'."

"Good, I agree. So do I have the Astoria seal of approval then?" Harry asked, still curious about her little sister's opinion. He had not thought about it much yet, but her family's approval of him seemed to be an important issue.

"Not yet. You have to go through the interrogation next, but you should be fine. She doesn't seem to care about house rivalries, I must have taught her well." Harry agreed and for a while they continued to eat and chat as if there was nothing odd about them doing so. The other Slytherins had apparently decided to do nothing for the moment, but that changed when Draco Malfoy walked in flanked by cronies Crabbe and Goyle.

"Potter! Get the hell away from my table!" Malfoy yelled, grabbing the attention of both Harry and Daphne who had not noticed him until that point. He had also managed to get the attention of all of the other people in the Great Hall.

"I don't think I will. Daphne and I are enjoying a nice, quiet lunch. Why don't you sit down and do the same?" Harry said calmly. As he talked he had turned his body in such a way that Malfoy could not see him pull his wand out of his robes.

"You think you're something special, don't you Potter. That Boy-Who-Lived crap has finally driven you mad. It's not enough for you to enter the Triwizard Tournament illegally and get away with it but now you are stupid enough to think you can sit at my table like you own it. You'll pay for that." With that Malfoy reached for his wand and pointed it towards Harry while yelling out "Stupefy!" Harry had the advantage of already having his wand out and ready so when Malfoy reached for his he cast a shield charm big enough to cover both himself and Daphne. When Malfoy's stunner hit the shield there was a brief sizzling noise and what looked like a red splash against a light blue dome. Angry that his first attack didn't work Malfoy switched to a more dangerous spell and screamed "Reducto!" This spell too failed when it hit Harry's shield. Harry thought Draco was going to try for a third spell when he was interrupted.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor and a week's detention, Potter!" Professor Snape said angrily as he walked up to them and forced Malfoy to lower his wand. "Dueling is not allowed in the Great Hall."

"Severus," the voice of Professor Dumbledore called from behind him "I believe I must have had a better view of what happened. Mr Potter clearly only cast a shield charm in self defense, perhaps your punishment should instead be given to Mr Malfoy who if I am not mistaken cast two offensive spells and was preparing to cast a third?"

"Of course, Headmaster." Snape answered in a low growl, clearly not happy with the outcome.

"Also, five points for Gryffindor for a wonderful demonstration of the Protego shield charm. Enjoy the rest of your meal, everyone." Dumbledore gave Harry a small wink before turning and heading back to the professor's table. Snape scowled at Harry before following him, leaving Malfoy still standing in front of Harry and Daphne madder than ever.

"I'll get you for this, Potter. You and your whore." Draco said, sending a threatening glare at Daphne. Before either of them could respond Malfoy had walked off with Crabbe and Goyle in tow. The rest of the Slytherin students at the table seemed more unsure than ever about how to react to Harry. Eventually they just went back to their lunches, trying to pretend nothing had happened. Harry looked up at Daphne and frowned.

"I guess I should have known that would happen. It's been far too long since Malfoy had tried to attack me. Should I go?" Harry asked.

"No, the damage is done anyway. He is a pest, nothing more. Did you know he really doesn't have many friends in Slytherin? Sure, he has allies but almost no one who hangs around him does it because they like him. I can handle Malfoy if I have to." she said confidently. "How are the Gryffindor's reacting?"

"It's hard to say. Nobody seems to have made up their minds yet, other than Ron of course. Then again I haven't talked to any of them today." he explained. "Maybe it won't be that bad."

"We'll see. Oh, and I before I forget I needed to tell you that I am mad at you." Daphne said, but oddly didn't look or sound that mad at all.

"What? Why?" Harry asked, trying to think of anything he could have done to upset her and not coming up with anything.

"You've been holding back on me when we practice. You cast that Protego non-verbally, how long have you been working on that?" Harry sighed, realizing that she was right. He didn't want to discourage her and thought it might be a good idea not to show her things he could do that she couldn't yet. She was learning, but he still had the advantage.

"The past two or three weeks. I can't do it on every spell, and usually when I can the spells are weaker. I didn't even realize I had cast the spell silently until you said something about it. We can work on it together from now on." Daphne nodded in agreement. "There's something else I need to tell you too. Last week Hermione asked if she could come with me one night while I trained. I told her to wait until after Christmas and ask again if she still wanted to because I didn't want to have to explain why you were there yet. I haven't seen her yet today, but when I do the first thing out of her mouth is going to be to tell me she still wants to. That's just the way she is."

Daphne sat and thought about how she felt about Hermione joining them. She was a little surprised by the jealous feeling that sprang up inside her, insisting that Hermione not be allowed to come because she would be intruding on her time with Harry. Daphne pushed that feeling away, telling herself that it wouldn't matter anymore because she could talk to him publicly like they were doing now. "That will be fine," Daphne finally said, "assuming she still wants to come."

"Great." Harry replied. "So I saw the Daily Prophet today and they didn't mention anything about the Yule Ball."

"I think that was because it happened so late last night they didn't have time to write the stories for the morning paper. You know how obsessively they have been covering everything about this tournament, they are going to say something about it. Wait until tomorrow, then we'll see." Harry nodded, his face dropping into a small frown.

"Ah, and here I thought we had just gotten a lucky break." he said with a half-hearted laugh. They then began discussing what they wanted to do with the rest of the day since they did not have classes or anything else to do. In the end they ended up taking a walk outside, enjoying the fact that they no longer had to meet in secret.

* * *

As Harry had expected, Hermione asked him about watching and hopefully participating in his training as soon as she saw him. He agreed and gave her directions to the third floor classroom he had been using. She excitedly told him that he wouldn't regret it and that she had something for him to practice tonight. Harry wasn't very happy with her thinking she could dictate his lessons, but decided he would just have to show her what he had been doing to make her understand. Harry and Daphne actually were in the room thirty minutes, discussing what they were going to do about Hermione and what they would tell her.

Right on time, Hermione walked through the door and a small look of surprise crossed her face when she saw Daphne.

"Hello Daphne, Harry didn't tell me you would be here too." Hermione said while setting her book bag down on a desk. Daphne smiled and gave a small wave in response.

"Actually, she has been helping me out for a while now. That's part of why I told you to wait until after Christmas to ask about my training again."

"What's going on, Harry?" Hermione asked, knowing that there was a lot to the story she was not being told.

"There are a couple of reasons why she has been training with me. One, we knew that some of our classmates might not like the fact that we went to the Yule Ball together and are... well, friends now I suppose." Harry added the last part uncertainly; unsure exactly what their relationship was now. Certainly more than friends. Were they dating? Or would he have to ask her out on multiple dates before they were dating? Deciding not to confuse himself with that, he pushed it from his mind but not before Daphne saw his brief look of confusion and smiled at what she knew he was thinking.

"And the other part is that we believe the return of the Dark Lord is imminent, and when that day comes we will both be in his way so we should be prepared." Daphne said, stepping in to finish for Harry. Hermione's jaw dropped and she looked back and forth between Harry and Daphne looking for some indication that they were joking. The serious looks on their faces said otherwise.

"Harry, you're really serious about this aren't you? Surely Dumbledore wouldn't allow that to happen." Hermione argued, eliciting a small frown from Harry.

"Dumbledore is not a god, Hermione. He can't control everything. Voldemort has made two attempts to come back since we've come to Hogwarts and the only reason he didn't succeed was luck. One day we won't be so lucky, and what then?" Harry pleaded with Hermione, who though still not happy was beginning to nod in agreement with his points. "I can't escape him; he is going to keep coming for me no matter what. Daphne and her family have been preparing for this since the Death Eater attack this summer, and I respect the choice they have made. You might still be able to escape this Hermione. It's doubtful because you are muggleborn, but if you back off now Voldemort won't have any other reason to target you."

"You're talking about me abandoning you again, aren't you? I won't do it, Harry! Not even if you act like you want me to." she replied forcefully. At this Harry and Daphne shared a look and nodded, as if they were waiting on her to say what she did. Harry walked over to Hermione and pulled her into a friendly, reassuring hug.

"Thank you, Hermione." he said as he released the hug. "I just hope you know what you've gotten yourself into."

"Trouble, I assume. As always." she answered. Daphne watched the friends with a small smile. She did not think that she would ever be the best of friends with Hermione, but it was clear the other girl was now fiercely loyal to Harry. Her disappointment with her own previous behavior had pushed her to that extreme, never again would she betray her friend. When the war finally came, Daphne knew, there was nothing that would keep Hermione from standing by his side. Their job was to help her become a witch that would be useful when that day came.

"So Daphne, what do you think?" Harry turned and asked.

"Welcome to the club." she answered with a shrug. Harry and Hermione both laughed, but then Hermione got an excited look on her face and ran off towards her book bag. She had pulled out several books, looking for the right one, until she eventually found the book she was looking for. She then began rapidly turning the pages.

"She does this sometimes." Harry said to Daphne, loud enough for Hermione to hear. Hermione finally found the page she was looking for and rushed back over to Harry, holding the book out for him to take. "What's this, Hermione?"

"The answer you've been looking for, of course. Instructions on how to perform the Bubble Head Charm, which will allow you to breathe underwater." she stated with a proud smile on her face. Harry and Daphne both wore shocked expressions on their faces, thrilled that Hermione had been able to find the answer to their dilemma when neither of them had yet been able to.

"That's brilliant, Hermione!" Harry finally exclaimed, taking the book and beginning to read. Daphne sat down next to him and began reading while Hermione simply waited for them to finish. When Harry was done he handed the book back to Daphne and started practicing the wand movements. "Have you tried this one yet?"

"No, not yet." Hermione answered. "I don't think it is supposed to be a difficult spell, but I didn't want to risk trying it without someone else there to help me if it went wrong."

"What do you mean, went wrong?" Harry asked.

"I was worried that I might get the bubble to appear but not the air in it." Hermione answered. Harry nodded, agreeing that would be a bad result.

"Well, here goes nothing..." Harry said, starting the wand movement that began with him waving his wand around his head and ended with him tapping himself on the head. As he finished he clearly and forcefully said the incantation: "Aer Caputus!" and was rewarded with the sight of a transparent bubble forming around his head. He had been nervously holding his breath as he cast the spell, a fact which took him several seconds to realize. Hesitantly, he took in a breath and was pleased to find that it was normal, breathable air. "It worked!" Daphne rushed over to him and gave him a hug in congratulations, and then began to poke at the bubble with her finger to see if it would break. The bubble remained intact, even when Daphne stopped using her finger and started trying to burst the bubble with a quill.

"I think this will work, Harry. The bubble is a lot stronger than it looks." Daphne said approvingly. "Now try to cancel the spell." Harry nodded and tapped himself on head again which caused the bubble to disappear. "Good!" she said in encouragement.

"Now you just have to try it underwater." Hermione added.

"I was thinking about that," Harry responded, "and now that I have a way to stay underwater I want to start exploring the lake. That way I will have a better idea of where I am going for the second task. Before I do that though, I need to figure out what is living in the lake. I know there are Merpeople, grindylows, and the giant squid but what else?"

"I'll look into it, Harry" Hermione said eagerly. "Oh, and if it makes you feel any better Viktor hasn't been able to figure out how to get the clue from the egg yet."

"And how was your date with the international Quidditch star?" Daphne asked, resulting in a small blush from Hermione.

"It was... good." Hermione answered, still blushing and smiling. Daphne laughed a little seeing how uncomfortable the other girl was gossiping about her date.

"Cedric already knew." Harry said suddenly, referring to the egg, "Professor Moody told him." As he said that he got the feeling that the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor's behavior was very odd. Why would he tell Harry about the first task but not Cedric? Or tell Cedric about the second task but not Harry? If he just wanted someone from Hogwarts to win it would be better to tell them both. Moody also tried to help him plan for the first task, but he had not done anything like that this time. 'Maybe Moody is just mad, like everyone says.' Harry thought, trying to shake the confused feeling.

"That was nice of Professor Moody." Hermione said. But Daphne's face had a small frown on it, causing Harry to wonder if she was having thoughts similar to his. Before he could continue that thought Hermione was talking again, asking him a question. "Harry, is there another room somewhere in the castle we can use? This is a great location and it's private, but it's also too small."

"I can check the Marauder's Map for something else, but nothing comes to mind. Maybe I could ask Dobby." The second he said Dobby's name the small house elf popped into the room, throwing himself at Harry's feet.

"Is Master Harry Potter calling Dobby?" he asked, happy that Harry wanted him there. Harry, meanwhile, was a little uncomfortable with the affection the elf was showing him.

"Dobby, do you know of somewhere in the castle we can practice magic? We would need it to be private like this room, but bigger."

"Maybe, Harry Potter, sir." Dobby said, looking thoughtful. "Dobby will look and ask the other house elves. Dobby will not disappoint you sir!" The small house elf disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, leaving Daphne laughing at the elf's odd behavior and Hermione muttering something about 'poorly treated elves'.

"If there is a better place in this castle, Dobby will find it." Harry assured them both. "Alright, now you two should practice the Bubble Head Charm. Like Hermione said, it isn't that difficult." The rest of the evening was spent with them learning the new spell and testing what they could do with it. Neither of them was able to successfully perform the spell on their first try. Daphne finally managed to do it after ten minutes of trying, and Hermione five minutes after that. By the time they finished experimenting with the new spell if was late and they decided to call it quits. Hermione left for the Gryffindor common room while Harry escorted Daphne back to the Slytherin dorms.

On the way it was hard to miss the stares they received whenever they passed by the other students. What was most amusing to them was the variety of expressions on the faces of the people who were staring. Some were angry, others fearful, and a great many of them were simply interested or confused. Harry and Daphne either laughed it off or ignored them, not wanting to deal with people asking them to explain their relationship. Not that either of them was quite sure how to define that relationship at the moment either. Both were curious what the other thought, but neither of them had brought up the topic. For now neither of them minded that, content to just enjoy the moment. Things might get difficult in the near future and they were not eager to take on any more worries.

Unknown to them, at that very moment a fresh round of attacks from the Daily Prophet was being printed and prepared for delivery courtesy of their least favorite reporter: Rita Skeeter.

* * *

_**RISING DARK LORD PICKS HIS DARK LADY?**_

_by Rita Skeeter_

_Have the fears of the wizarding world that Harry Potter has turned dark now been confirmed? This reporter has long argued that there is something very wrong with the young Triwizard Champion and his actions this year have done nothing to refute that. My faithful readers will surely remember the Boy-Who-Lived's reckless use of dark magic which turned a wild dragon into his mindless slave, an event the Ministry still refuses to investigate._

_The fact that Potter has been lost to the darkness was all but confirmed at Hogwart's Yule Ball. For weeks the student population had been speculating on who Potter would take to the Yule Ball, with most sources claiming he would attend with his long time love interest Hermione Granger. In a shocking turn of events Granger spurned the affections of the young Triwizard Champion in favor of his Durmstrang rival, Viktor Krum! Perhaps it was this rejection that blackened the young man's heart and soul, we can only guess._

_Freshly rejected by Hermione Granger, Harry Potter turned to the dark embrace of Daphne Greengrass from Slytherin house. The Greengrasses, as you may remember, have a long history of supporting dark wizards. In fact, Daphne Greengrass's uncle Gabriel Greengrass is a convicted Death Eater and resides in Azkaban to this very day! Dear readers, I shiver when I think of what it might mean that the defeater of You-Know-Who is embracing not just the dark arts but the followers of the former dark lord as well. Now is the time for the Ministry to step in and act, before Dark Lord Potter becomes a menace even they can not stop._

_But perhaps there is hope. Our sources at Hogwarts tell me that Potter and Greengrass were not known acquaintances before the Yule Ball. Very few could recall the two ever talking to each other. There is therefore a chance that Ms Greengrass has somehow managed to gain control of Mr Potter, perhaps through use of love potions or the Imperious Curse. Her control over Potter was evidenced during an altercation during the Yule Ball in which Potter's best friend, Ronald Weasley, attempted to bring Potter to his senses and break Greengrass's influence over his friend. His brave attempt failed when Greengrass threatened Mr Weasley (with all sorts of dark magic no doubt), an action which drew no protest from Harry Potter. Action must be taken now if there is any hope of saving Harry Potter's soul! Will anyone act? Only time will tell._

* * *

The article in the Daily Prophet circulated quickly and within hours of its delivery almost everyone in Hogwarts had read it. Once again the fickle nature of the student body was evident in their reactions. However, there was a growing minority that had noted the inaccuracies in the Daily Prophet's reporting and was beginning to question whether or not their main source of information could be trusted. This small, but growing, group mainly consisted of fourth year students who had come to know Harry over the past four years. It was possible, they believed, to think that Harry could have gotten past the age line and put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Several people, including Fred and George Weasley, had attempted that and were not thought poorly of. Why should Harry be treated any different? But could Harry Potter be turning evil, as the Daily Prophet alleged? The claim was too ridiculous to accept for many of them. One thing was certain: opinions were starting to polarize. The amount of people who had yet to make up their minds was rapidly decreasing.

Support for Harry was strongest in Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, where Cedric Diggory had been able to convince many of his housemates to ignore the slanderous articles from the Daily Prophet. The Hufflepuff's trusted Diggory, and if he approved of Potter that was enough for them to give the subject a second thought. Cho Chang was acting as Ravenclaw's voice of reason, although not as successfully as her Hufflepuff boyfriend. Most of the Slytherins were against Harry out of habit, but a few were more curious about Daphne's relationship with him.

The Daily Prophet's vicious lies about Harry were beginning to have an effect that no one had foreseen, because the more the newspaper attacked him the larger the group of people who realized they were being lied to grew. And if the Prophet was lying about Harry Potter, what else could they be lying about? Slowly, a still small number of them were beginning to ask questions and think for themselves. Though hardly noticeable to most observers, things were starting to change.

* * *

Author's Note:

And there's another chapter out the door. Things are going to start moving a little more quickly from here on out, with everyone's actions causing the timeline as shown in cannon to be altered in much larger ways. By the end of the year things will be vastly different, which will mean many of the challenges the characters face from then on will be unrecognizable. By necessity, a lot of things in this part of the story remain the same as the book. For instance, there is really nothing Harry or Daphne's friendship could have done to stop Barty Crouch Jr from capturing and impersonating Moody. But now things can be altered in larger ways.

Some of you may be wondering about Hermione's newfound sense of loyalty. In some ways I see her character's conversion and fervent belief in Harry to be much like a person who changes religions late in life (if you aren't sure what I mean by this, just wait until you meet one). Oddly enough, Hermione is also seeking forgiveness and a shot at redemption which makes the comparison a little more apt. Hope that makes sense to all of you.

Thanks again to everyone who reads or comments. I've written other things in the past, but this is my first try at fan fiction. I'm enjoying how the story is turning out so far and I hope you are too. The story will definitely continue past this year up until when Harry is finally ready to take down Voldemort. I couldn't end it too soon, there are just too many plot points I would like to play around with.


	9. Chapter 9

"Neville, have I ever told you how much I despise Rita Skeeter?" Harry looked up from the article in the the Daily Prophet that he was reading. Neville had shown him the article during breakfast, deciding that his friend would be interested in seeing what was printed about him. The angry look on Harry's face made it clear he was not happy with what he read.

"Only once or twice, Harry." Neville laughed.

"If I ever do go dark, it may just be so I can get back at her." Harry said. "I wonder what Daphne is going to say about it."

"They were actually harsher on her than you." Neville pointed out. "But I don't think she has a temper quite like yours.

"I'm curious Neville, what do you think of Daphne?" Harry asked, hoping that his other good friend would not have any issues with her. He had decided that Hermione was not going to be a problem after seeing the two girls interact with each other the previous night. They were polite to each other, though not exactly friendly. Maybe one day that would change, it would certainly be easier on him if it did.

"I don't have any problems with her. We're actually distantly related, but that isn't surprising considering we are both from pureblood families. My great grandmother was her great grandfather's sister, I guess that makes us third cousins." Neville explained with a small shrug. Neville, like Daphne, had also been taught not only their own family's history but about the other pureblood families. He found the customs and traditions to be mostly annoying and outdated, but his grandmother insisted he learn them and Neville rarely said no to his grandmother.

"I see. So do you show up at each other's family reunions or something?"

"No, we're not closely related enough to do that. The Greengrasses and the Longbottoms have gone their separate ways. I don't think I've ever talked to her to be honest. She's never tried to insult me like most of the other Slytherins, so that counts for something. Plus, you seem to like her so she can't be all that bad." Harry smiled, happy that he would probably not have to worry about Daphne and Neville not getting along with each other. He started to go back to his meal when he someone suddenly sat down in the seat next to him. Harry immediately recognized the younger brown haired girl.

"Hello Harry Potter." she said, "I'm Astoria Greengrass." Daphne's younger sister sat looking at him confidently while the others sitting at the long table looked at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement. Harry briefly thought that it would have been nice if the Slytherins had reacted that way when he sat at their table.

"Hi, can I help you?" Harry asked, unsure of what to say to the girl.

"Sure, you can tell me what your intentions are with my big sister." she said seriously. Harry had definitely not been expecting her to say that.

"Isn't that something a girl's dad normally asks a guy, not her little sister?" Harry said with a small laugh.

"Usually, but if you want her to be your Dark Lady I need to approve that you are a good Dark Lord." Astoria answered, her efforts to hold back her smile now starting to falter. Harry and Neville looked at each other when they heard this and both started laughing.

"Sorry, but I thought you were trying to be serious when you came over here." Harry replied.

"I do care about my sister, but she has answered all of my questions and vouched for you. I would give you the 'hurt her and die' speech but you're Harry freakin' Potter, so I'll just have to go with the 'hurt her and I will be a huge pain in your ass' speech."

"Fair enough." Harry said with a nod. Astoria looked at him seriously for a moment, as if trying to judge his reaction. Finally she seemed satisfied and got up to head back to her table. She only got a few steps before she turned back around with an odd grin on her face.

"You may have thought it was funny now, but we'll see how much you laugh when it is my dad asking the questions." Astoria said before turning back and continuing towards her table. Harry's laughter seemed to die in his throat, realizing the young girl might have a point.

* * *

Hours later Harry was sitting in the library reading Hermione's favorite book _Hogwarts: A History_. He was hoping to find some reference to creatures living in the lake but had found nothing. He had first asked Daphne then Hermione if they wanted to help him with the research but they had both been forced to say no for the same reason. Classes would be beginning again in a few days and for them that meant a huge Ancient Runes project coming due that would count for a large chunk of their grades. Harry, having not taken Ancient Runes, did not share that problem.

After an hour of flipping through the book Harry slammed it shut with a frustrated grunt. 'I should have known there was nothing in there,' he thought 'Because Hermione would have mentioned it if there was. She has that book practically memorized.' Harry was walking down the aisles and looking at the titles of the books, hoping to find one that looked promising, when he heard the soft popping noise that occurs when house elves use their version of Apparition. Looking down he saw Dobby, smiling and bouncing with excitement.

"Harry Potter sir! Dobby is finding masters new room!" the little elf yelled.

"That's great Dobby! Where is it?" he asked.

"Seventh floor, sir. Follow me, Dobby will explain on the way." Dobby began jumping up and down waiting for Harry to follow him, and when Harry did start to walk towards the door he saw Dobby hopping instead of walking. The house elf seemed very pleased with himself.

"Dobby, I've been all over the seventh floor and I can't think of anywhere better than the classroom I am using now. And there my map doesn't show any large rooms either."

"Does Harry Potter's map know all the secrets of Hogwarts sir?" Dobby asked with a grin.

"Well, now that you mention it the Chamber of Secrets isn't on there. Are you saying that this room is a hidden room like that?" Harry asked as they began climbing the stairs up towards the upper levels of the castle. Thankfully the moving staircases were all aligned properly so they did not have to take a detour.

"Oh yes sir. The Come and Go room can be many things, all the Hogwarts house elves know that."

"Come and Go Room?" Harry asked curiously.

"You wizards call it the Room of Requirement, Dobby thinks. Come Harry Potter sir! We are getting close!" Dobby grew more excited the closer they got, hopping faster than ever. Harry was practically running in order to keep up with him. Finally Dobby hopped, tripped, and tumbled to a stop in front of a blank stretch of wall. "We're here!" he yelled happily.

"Dobby, there's no room here. There isn't even a painting hiding a door." Harry said skeptically.

"Not yet, sir. You need to think of what room you want and walk past this wall three times then POP! Your room will be there." Dobby explained.

"So if I wanted a bedroom, that is what would appear? Or a bathroom, or a library, or whatever else I could think of?" Harry asked, starting to realize the potential such a room would have.

"Yes!" Dobby said, nodding vigorously. Harry decided to try it and the first room that came to mind was an image of the Gryffindor common room. Walking past the wall once he looked up, hoping to see something but the wall remained unchanged. After his second pass still nothing had happened. Then, on his third time past the wall, a door began to appear. The wall around it seemed to melt away as if it were mad of wax and the door had been hidden beneath it. When the changes finally stopped Harry grabbed the knob and threw the door open.

The room inside was an exact replica of the common room he had pictured in his mind. It even included Ron's chess set on a table in the corner, with the pieces arranged and ready to play. A fire was lit in the fireplace and gave a little warmth and light to the room. Harry rushed in, staring in awe at what seemed to be a perfect copy of the room he knew so well. Smiling, he walked up the stairs to the door that led to his bedroom and opened it only to be met with a wall instead of an entrance.

"I wonder why that happened?" Harry said. He then realized that he had only asked to see the common room, not all of the dorms attached to the common room as well. So when he used the room he would have to be very specific in what he asked for. "Dobby, you are the best elf ever."

Dobby gasped at Harry's praise and tears of joys began to leak from his eyes. The tiny elf rushed towards Harry and grabbed his leg in a tight hug. "Harry Potter is too kind!" he began repeating, only stopping after Harry spent several minutes calming him down. Harry didn't think he was being too kind though, this room had almost endless potential. And it seemed he was the only person who knew about it.

"Thank you, Dobby. You did great." Harry said seriously. The elf hugged him again and then popped away, explaining that he had to get back to work. Harry spent the next few hours experimenting with the room, quickly realizing that it would be the perfect place to move his training to.

* * *

Harry walked back into the library that night with an odd expression on his face. He was about to sit down at the table he had been using earlier in the day when he noticed Neville excitedly waving him over. Harry waved and then walked over to where his friend was sitting.

"Hey Harry. Is something wrong?" Neville asked, noticing Harry's expression.

"No, not wrong exactly. Just strange and unexpected."

"What are you talking about?"

"On my way in to the library Susan Bones stopped me. You know Susan, right? Our year, in Hufflepuff." Neville nodded, clearly recognizing who Harry was talking about. "Well anyway she comes up to me and says she is sorry I have to put up with all that garbage from the Daily Prophet, and that not everybody believes everything they read. Then she walked off and I came in here."

"She's right, Harry. Lots of people must know better than to listen to that stuff, right?" Neville asked.

"That's the problem, up until now it has seemed like almost everyone believed the worst about me. You not included, of course." Harry stated. Neither of them had noticed that someone had heard the last part of their conversation and was now standing behind Harry.

"But what if I wanted to be a Dark Lady?" a voice asked from behind Harry, causing him to turn and look for the source. He smiled when he saw Daphne smile back and sit next to him.

"I am sure that can be arranged, Daphne." Harry assured her. "Neville, meet Daphne. Daphne, meet Neville." Daphne and Neville exchanged hello's and other simple greetings. "I thought you had to work on an Ancient Runes project?"

"I do." Daphne answered. "The real reason I am here is to look up some things for the project, but at as added bonus you get to see me."

"Great." Harry responded, smiling.

"Harry, I almost forgot what I wanted to talk to you about. I found a solution to your problem for the second task!" Neville explained happily.

"Is it the Bubble Head Charm? Hermione told me about that one last night." Harry said.

"What? Oh, well no it isn't that. There's this plant called Gillyweed and if you eat some you are supposed to grow fins and gills so you can breath underwater and move a lot easier." Neville explained.

"That actually sounds a lot more useful than the Bubble Head Charm." Harry noted. Daphne nodded, thinking the same thing.

"The only problem is that it is hard to find. You can buy it, but it will probably be pretty expensive."

"Harry, maybe what you should do is use the Bubble Head Charm to explore the lake but use Gillyweed in the actual tournament." Daphne suggested. Harry nodded in agreement, although he would like to try the gillyweed at least once before he used it in the second task. That way he could test the effects and see how long the change lasted.

"That's brilliant Neville, I never would have thought of that." Harry said in thanks.

"You're just lucky I found it in this book that Professor Moody gave me." Neville responded. Harry's smile immediately dropped into an expression of concentration.

"Harry, I think I've noticed something going on here." Daphne said with a similar expression on her face, "You're going to think this sounds crazy but..."

"But you've noticed how everything about this tournament keeps coming back to Professor Moody, right?" Harry finished for her. "First he tells me about the dragon, but not Cedric. Then, he tries to give me pointers on how to beat the dragon. Next, he tells Cedric what to do with the egg and Cedric just happens to rush over and tell me about it. And now, Neville conveniently finds the answer to our problems in a book he gave to him. What is he up to?"

"Harry, you're not thinking Professor Moody has gone dark are you?" Neville asked, shocked by where the conversation was headed. "That's crazy. They say that half of the dark wizards in Azkaban are only there because Mad Eye Moody put them there. I don't think he would ever turn dark."

"Maybe this isn't about him turning dark," Daphne suggested, "Maybe he has some other goal. What does he stand to gain by having Harry win the tournament?"

"Nothing." Harry responded. "So let's assume that he is the one who put my name in the Goblet of Fire, surely he is powerful enough of a wizard to do it, what's the point? He's helping me at every turn, so he obviously didn't put me in the tournament to get me hurt."

"Unless he is waiting for the third task to do it as some violent grand finale." Daphne pointed out.

"Well, yes. I guess it could be that." Harry said in agreement with her unpleasant thought. "But so far there is no proof he wants me to get hurt. Why should he care if I win the tournament or not?"

"What do you get for winning, Harry?" Neville asked.

"A thousand galleons and a trophy, I think."

"Neither of those are worth the effort. It has to be something else." Daphne stated. "Assuming it was Moody that put your name in the cup in the first place. It could be that he just wants to help you out because he knows you shouldn't be in the tournament in the first place."

"Do you really believe that?" Harry asked.

"No." Daphne answered truthfully. "But it is possible."

"What if this isn't about you winning, Harry." Neville said uncertainly. "Maybe he just doesn't want one of the others to win." Harry thought about it and shrugged.

"OK, but who would he possibly be trying to stop from winning? He did help Cedric a little, so it can't be him. That leaves Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum. We know that Krum's headmaster was once a Death Eater, but there has to be more to it than that right?" Harry offered. The other two seemed to agree.

"If that was all he could have just helped out Diggory." Daphne said. "There would be no reason to enter Harry in the tournament in the first place. We're missing something, something important. I guess we should just watch and see what he does next."

"That's a great idea!" Harry replied with a grin. He then starting digging through his book bag and came up with a plain looking piece of parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." he said, tapping the parchment with his wand as he did. Immediately ink seemed to spread from where he had tapped the parchment, revealing the Marauder's Map. Daphne had heard about the map but never seen it and was now staring at it in awe. Neville, on the other hand, had never even heard of the Marauder's Map and was confused about what he was looking at. "Neville, this is a map of Hogwarts that my dad and his friends made when they went to school here. It shows the location of everyone in the castle." And sure enough, Neville saw a dot with his own name next to it in the library near dots that said 'Harry Potter' and 'Daphne Greengrass'.

"Wow, no wonder you never get caught out in the halls at night." Neville said.

"Well, this is certainly part of that. I'll have to show you the other part later." Harry answered. "Now, where is Moody? His office is next to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom which is... here. There he is! He's in his office with... Barty Crouch?"

"Who is Barty Crouch?" Neville asked.

"He's the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Percy Weasley works for him and was saying at the Yule Ball that he had been out sick recently. Now I sort of wish that I had been listening to what that brown noser was saying about his boss. I wonder what he is doing in Moody's office." Harry said, the curiosity plainly evident in his voice.

"Years ago he was also head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so he would have been Professor Moody's boss. That would explain how they know each other, but not why he is in the castle." Daphne added. She sat back and sighed, angry because she knew she was missing something but had no idea what it was.

"Maybe we should just take a step back from this for a while. It's possible that we are all just letting our imaginations run wild and seeing conspiracy theories where there aren't any. He could just be a nice but odd professor trying to help me out in the tournament because I am from the school he teaches at and he likes me." Harry said uncertainly.

"Perhaps, but do you believe that?" Daphne asked, echoing his earlier question.

"No, I don't." Harry answered, frowning. "I will see you guys later, ok? I need to write a letter to Sirius and see what he thinks about all of this. He'll probably just tell me I'm crazy, but I would still feel better if I brought it up." Harry turned towards Daphne and hugged her, whispering "Good night" to her as he did, then stood and walked out of the library still deep in thought.

Harry felt he was close to uncovering some key fact that kept slipping from his grasp. The idea that one of the greatest Auror's in history wanted to hurt him was ridiculous, but there had to be something going on there. Upon reaching the Owlery, Harry took out a piece of parchment and his quill and wrote a quick note to Sirius about his suspicions. For a long time he held the completed letter, unsure of whether or not he wanted to send it at all. Finally he decided that it couldn't hurt anything and tied the letter the leg of one of the Hogwart's owls, much to Hedwig's displeasure.

"Sorry girl, you can't send this one. People would notice you." Harry apologized to the snowy owl who turned her head and hooted at him to show her unhappiness. "Take this to Sirius Black, ok?" Harry told the Hogwarts owl which hooted and flew off towards its destination. He gave Hedwig a few treats and stroked her feathers for a while, hoping to cheer her up, before finally leaving the Owlery and going back to his dorm room to think.

* * *

The following days Harry patiently waited for a response from Sirius, but it had not yet come. He had no idea where Sirius was currently hiding, so it was entirely possible that it was just taking the owl a long time to reach him. Harry spent a lot of time puzzling over his entry into the Triwizard tournament and Professor Moody's actions since then. No matter how hard he tried though, he could still not understand what was going on. He briefly considered confronting the Professor about it, but quickly decided that until he could be sure that the tough ex-Auror meant him no harm it would be very unwise to do so. As proud as Harry was about his progress in learning new and powerful magic this year, he knew he stood almost no chance of defeating a man who had put some of the most dangerous wizards of the modern era behind bars.

Harry spent much of his free time in the newly discovered Room of Requirement, which he had still not showed to Hermione or Daphne because they spent their time working on their projects. He had found that the room was incredibly powerful, but did have some limitations. For instance, there was an upper limit on how big the room could become. He had once tried asking for Sirius to be brought to the room but that did not work, instead the room was blank and empty. He could, however, get the room to look like almost anything he wanted. Harry spent a lot of time trying to create a perfect training room, though he found he was constantly coming up with new ideas to improve it.

Eventually the holiday came to an end and classes were set to return. The first morning back Harry accidentally overslept, his body clearly not used to waking up early in the morning for classes. Seeing that he could only make it to his first class on time if he skipped breakfast, Harry groaned in disappointment and began the walk towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The room was already halfway full when he arrived and Professor Moody was writing notes on the chalkboard. Strangely, he noticed several people watching him as if they were waiting to see what he was going to do. Trying to ignore the stares, Harry sat down at his usual spot and waited for class to begin.

"Harry!" he heard Hermione yell as she walked in the door. She rushed over and sat next to him with a worried expression on her face. "I've been looking for you all morning, were you with Daphne? How is she?"

"Hermione, what are you talking about? No, I haven't seen Daphne. She's not here yet, but class hasn't started so she's probably on her way."

"Then you haven't seen it yet, have you?" Hermione asked, a small shocked expression on her face.

"Seen what?" Harry asked, getting a little frustrated.

"Harry, there's a new article by Rita Skeeter in today's Daily Prophet. She went after Daphne this time and said... well, I think it would be better if you read it. That awful woman." Hermione reluctantly handed him a copy of the Daily Prophet turned to the second page, where the article in question was found:

_**DAPHNE GREENGRASS'S DEADLY THIRST FOR POWER**_

_by Rita Skeeter_

_Harry Potter may be in even more danger than we thought. Since last weeks article this office has been flooded with letters to the editor demanding that the Ministry of Magic take action to either turn the Boy-Who-Lived back to the light or free him from the nefarious influence of Daphne Greengrass. Several students at Hogwarts have expressed their shock at the unexpected couple and confirmed that the only way the two could have come together is through the use of banned potions or spells. We at the Daily Prophet whole heartedly agree._

_The question that must be asked is why? Why has Ms Greengrass taken such blatant action against Mr Potter. Does she and her family plan on using our young hero in some dark and evil ritual? Is it simply a case of a girl's obsession with that which she can not have? Or is it Daphne Greengrass's next step on her long and deadly path towards personal power? I have personally uncovered evidence that this may not be the first time the aspiring Dark Lady has committed unthinkable acts for her own gain._

_It is well known that Daphne Greengrass is not only the heiress to her family's fortune but the future head of the Greengrass family. What you may not know is this has not always been the case. The Greengrass line, like many noble pureblood lines, typically passes to the oldest son or if there is no son to the oldest daughter. For the first few years of her life young Daphne was set to inherit everything, but that changed with the birth of her younger brother David Greengrass. One can only imagine the jealousy that must have taken root in the young girl's heart. Tragedy for the Greengrass family struck when young David died in what was at the time deemed an accident when he was only 3 years old._

_But, and it truly pains me to have to ask such a question, was it really an accident? Or did a young girl in a fit of jealousy murder her younger brother in order to take back what she believed was rightfully hers? If so, what does that mean for the Boy-Who-Lived? One thing is painfully clear: Harry Potter needs help._

Harry slowly set the paper down. His hands were shaking in anger at the paper and Rita Skeeter, but he also felt incredible sadness for Daphne and her family. In the time it had taken Harry to read the article class had begun. "I never even knew she had a little brother," Harry whispered to Hermione who was seated next to him, "she never brought it up."

"It's probably a very painful memory for her, Harry. I'm not surprised." Hermione answered quietly. Harry nodded and began looking around the class, looking for Daphne but she was not there. With class already started, Harry was trapped. He desperately wanted to go look for her and try and comfort her but knew he would have to wait for class to end. He would probably miss the next one, but he did not really care.

No class had ever passed so slowly for Harry. He found it impossible to listen to Professor Moody talk and when they were assigned a part of the book to read he simply stared at the page for fifteen minutes not reading at all. Harry's initial rage at the article had been overcome by his worry for Daphne. They had known that there would be consequences to their date and ongoing relationship, but he had never expected for her to be attacked in this way. Suddenly, with only five minutes left in the class, an idea struck him. There was something useful he could be doing! Reaching into his bag he pulled out the Marauder's Map and quietly said the phrase to activate it.

The first place he looked was in the Slytherin dorms, then the Great Hall, then the hospital wing. Each time he was disappointed when he found she was not there. Then inspiration struck him and he looked at the third floor classroom they had been using together for so long. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, he had found her. He guessed she must have been sitting down because her dot had not moved much. Glad he knew where to find her Harry began to put the map up when he found something very odd: Barty Crouch was in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with him. Harry looked around for him but only found Professor Moody talking with a few Ravenclaw students about the assignment. Looking back at the map he was further surprised to see that Moody was supposed to be in his office, not the classroom. As his eyes darted back and forth between the professor and the map a startling realization hit him: the man he was looking at was not Professor Moody but Barty Crouch using glamours or polyjuice potion to make him look like Professor Moody.

Harry's mind reeled trying to fit this new piece into the puzzle. Even with this new information everything that had happened still did not make sense. And what should he do about it? Tell Dumbledore? Harry guessed that was a good start. Suddenly the Moody impersonator's magic eye swiveled in its socket and stared directly at him. Harry belatedly realized that he had been staring at the Professor with his mouth open in shock for the last minute or two and attempted in vain to look like he was interested in his book. The next time Harry looked up 'Moody' was facing him, watching his every move with with a strange grin. Finally, class ended and everyone got up to leave but 'Moody's' eyes never left him.

"Potter!" the false Moody yelled causing Harry to cringe. "Stay after class." Harry's eyes widened in shock at the request. He looked around the room, seeing with disappointment that Hermione and Neville had already left. Thoughts of finding Daphne were slowly being replaced by a need to be anywhere but here. Harry watched with a sense of dread as the other students left the classroom and he suddenly found himself remembering that the next class wouldn't be in the room for another hour. Behind him he heard the soft thump of the door closing and then there was silence.

Everyone else had left. Harry was now stuck in the classroom alone with the man he knew was not Mad Eye Moody.

* * *

Author's Note:

How's that for a cliffhanger?

Thanks again to all of those who have given me suggestions for the story. Even if I don't use them they are always appreciated. And for those that have asked, no I can never see this becoming a Harry/Daphne/Hermione story. The idea of a three person relationship just makes no sense to me and I would have no idea how to write it. Sorry.


	10. Chapter 10

Harry's eyes darted around the room as he tried to consider his options. At the moment, he was in an otherwise empty classroom with who appeared to be Professor Moody but the Marauder's Map insisted was Barty Crouch. He had considered running, but felt certain that if he did Moody/Crouch would know that he suspected something. Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down a little. 'Maybe he doesn't suspect that I know' Harry thought, 'So if I just play along and act dumb maybe I can get out of this in one piece.' All the same, he let his right hand drift down to his pocket where his wand was.

"Well, well, well... what are we going to do now Mr Potter?" the fake Moody asked. The man had been staring at Harry since a few minutes before class ended, and Harry knew without a doubt that his magical eye had not looked away since. 'Moody' was leaning against his desk grinning at him in a way that made Harry very uncomfortable. Moody/Crouch didn't seem to have his wand out, a fact that gave Harry a little comfort.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir." Harry answered, hoping that the man just wanted to talk to him about school or the tournament. Instead, he responded to Harry's statement by beginning to laugh.

"Oh but I think you do Mr Potter, I think you do indeed." the professor replied, still laughing. Harry's hopes for getting out of the situation without a confrontation were rapidly dropping, but he still clung to the belief that his best course of action was to keep pretending to not know what was going on.

"Professor Moody, is this about my homework?" Harry asked. Moody/Crouch shook his head a little, and Harry noticed that the man's wand was now laying on the desk just inches from the impostor's hand. Harry frowned, wondering how he had missed that before.

"You and I both know that it isn't about homework." the grinning professor answered, clearly enjoying the game that they were playing.

"Maybe the tournament then?" Harry suggested, now fairly certain that this would not end well. He was almost positive that he could not beat the real Mad Eye Moody in a fight, but could he beat this impostor? Harry wasn't sure and didn't really look forward to finding out. His best option, he had decided, was to stall as long as possible and hope someone came in the room. Perhaps that would enable him to get out of the classroom, but he suspected that unless it was another professor that any person entering the room might just become another victim.

"Ah yes, the tournament. I do hope you are enjoying yourself in it. After all, I did have to go through quite a bit of trouble to get you in to it." he admitted, his face now taking on a proud look. "Dumbledore thought he was so smart with the Goblet of Fire and his damned enchantments. But he's not as smart as he likes to think he is, is he? After all, I am supposed to be one of his best friends and he doesn't suspect a thing."

"So it was you who put my name in the cup. But why?" Harry asked, careful not to reveal that he knew the man in front of him was not Professor Moody.

"Of course it was. And it is not my or your place to know why the master requests the things he does." Moody/Crouch answered. Harry froze at the man's response, was the 'master' he mentioned Voldemort? And if so why did Voldemort want him in the tournament in the first place?

"Your master?" Harry asked uncertainly, needing to know but fearing the answer.

"The Dark Lord, Mr Potter." Harry gulped and nodded as his fears were confirmed.

"But why Professor Moody? You were an Auror, one of the best." Harry said, still trying to keep the conversation going as long as possible. So far he had not even heard a sound from the other side of the door and he knew that it would be almost an hour until the next class came in. He remembered that the Charms classroom was next door and hoped that maybe someone would accidently open the wrong door, but the next round of classes should be starting in the next few minutes so his hopes were quickly diminishing.

"Still playing that game, are you? Drop it. We both know that I am not Alistor Moody." Harry knew that it would be stupid to continue acting like the man in front of him really was Moody, so he merely nodded.

"Fine then, Mr Crouch."

"See now? Isn't that better. I was warned about that bloody map of yours, and when I saw you looking at it during class I knew you had figured out that I am not who I claim to be. I think you might remember who warned me about the map, Wormtail sends his regards." At the mention of the traitor Peter Pettigrew Harry's grip on his wand tightened. Crouch must have seen his hand twitch because in an instant he had his wand in his hand, though he was still not pointing it in Harry's direction.

"But why? You are a respected part of the Ministry, why would you do this?" Harry asked, slowly bringing his wand out of his pocket so he would have it ready in case of an attack. Crouch noticed him doing this, of course, but made no move to stop him.

"I guess I gave you too much credit then. I am not my father, Mr Potter. My name is Barty Crouch Junior." the man who still looked like Professor Moody admitted. Harry had never even heard of Barty Crouch Jr, and the confusion must have been evident in his expression because Crouch Jr began talking again. "I take it you don't know of me then. I was and remain to this day a faithful servant of the Dark Lord. After his disappearance that bastard Karkaroff sold me out to save his own ass and I was thrown in Azkaban by my own father. He will pay for that and his other crimes against me."

"How did you get out?" Harry asked, seeing a good way to keep the man talking.

"My mother convinced my father to sneak me out of Azkaban and let her take my place. After that I was kept as a prisoner in my own home until this summer." Crouch Jr explained. "But now I am free to serve my lord once again, which brings me back to my original question: What am I going to do with you? Unfortunately the Dark Lord wants you alive, if he did not I would have murdered you the first opportunity I got. And there have been so many good opportunities. Do you know how hard it was for me to restrain myself from casting the killing curse at you when you least suspected it? Or perhaps not to kill you right away, but to make you suffer first? It would have been glorious, but the honor of killing you is not mine. The Dark Lord wishes to do that himself."

"Your 'Dark Lord' is nothing more than a spirit." Harry replied, braver than he actually felt. The class next door had already started by now so the chances that any one would walk through the door were extremely thin.

"Is he now? I would suggest you don't talk about things you obviously know nothing about." As Crouch answered Harry suddenly remembered the dream he had during the summer in which Voldemort had become a hideous but small creature that looked like a deformed baby. He had been surrounded by Wormtail and an unknown man that Harry was beginning to believe was Barty Crouch Jr. It would make sense, although Harry wondered briefly what it meant that he was having accurate visions about Voldemort that he pushed from his mind to focus on the situation at hand.

"Why are you doing this, what is your plan?" Harry demanded as part of his mind was screaming at him that the conversation was nearing its end and he needed to prepare for a fight.

"Neither of us are worthy enough to know the Dark Lord's plans. I suppose I will just have to Obvliviate you and continue with our little game. It really is a shame I can't just kill you now. Oh well." Crouch Jr said with an exagerated look of sadness. For a moment the two stared at each other, not moving, waiting to see what the other would do. The both had their wands in their hands, ready to cast the first spell. In the end it was Barty Crouch Jr who began the battle.

"Obliviate!" the Death Eater yelled as a burst of magic flew at his student. Harry reacted by diving out of the way and landing on the ground hard. Seeing Crouch Jr's foot and stump from under the table, Harry cast the Jelly Legs curse at him and began rolling under the table away from the professor not even bothering to watch if the spell hit him or not. It must have because he heard Crouch Jr growl and dispell the curse as Harry continued to try and distance himself from the impostor.

"A lucky shot, Potter. But first year spells aren't going to beat me." Crouch Jr taunted. Harry knew he was right, he was stupid to have used such a simple spell when he knew others that would have caused much more damage. This was not going to be like his mock duels with Daphne where he could get away with using minor spells. If he wanted to make it through this in one piece he was going to have to be more aggressive. Crouch Jr had not moved from his original position by his desk and Harry hoped that he would not know exactly where he was in the room since he was hidden under the tables.

"Come out now and this will be a lot easier on you." Crouch Jr advised. "Otherwise I may have to hurt you before Obliviating you."

Harry was kneeling now, ready to jump up and cast a spell. Deciding on the Reducto curse, Harry took a breath and leapt out from behind the table. Unfortunately Crouch Jr had seemed to know exactly where he was and had shouted "Inficio!" before he could even raise his wand. The spell produced a disgusting yellow light which flew towards Harry's head. Desperate to avoid being hit by the curse Harry once again dove to the floor, abandoning his plan to attack Crouch Jr. Behind him, the wall where the spell hit began to bubble and melt as if it had been hit by acid.

"You can't hide from me, Potter!" Crouch Jr continued to mock him. Harry moved to a different spot, still hidden under the tables, and tried the tactic again. Just like before, Crouch Jr seemed to know exactly where he was and sent a curse his way to prevent him from attacking. 'It's like he can see right through the tables.' Harry thought as he dodged the spell. 'Of course! He can see through the tables because of the magic eye!' he realized, figuring out why he was at a disadvantage. He was going to have to change strategies. Harry knew that as soon as Crouch Jr saw him get up he would cast some spell at him, meaning that if he timed it right he could dodge and have a split second where he could fire a spell and Crouch Jr would be vulnerable.

Harry decided to try his plan and jumped to his feet. As expected Crouch Jr had already fired a spell at him, the same yellow one from last time. Harry turned to the side to avoid the curse and yelled "Accio Magic Eyeball!" Immediately Crouch Jr's magic eyeball and the harness that kept it strapped to his face flew off of him and soared towards Harry. Crouch Jr roared in anger as they eye was ripped from his face. Now, instead of having the advantage he was at a disadvantage because he only had one working eye.

"I will make you suffer for that, boy!" Crouch Jr screamed. Harry kept up the attack, firing off the first spell that came to mind he shouted "Expelliarmus!" but Crouch Jr was able to sidestep the disarming spell and cast a blasting hex at Harry which caught him in the shoulder sending him spinning down to the floor. The shoulder felt sore and Harry knew he would be in pain later but there was no time to think about it now. Harry sent off a Reducto which died harmlessly as Crouch Jr raised a shield to protect himself. Knowing that his spells probably could not break through the older man's shield, Harry yelled "Accio desk!" and the desk that Crouch Jr had been standing in front of quickly slid towards Harry. This tactic caught Crouch Jr off guard and sent him toppling backwards over the desk.

The Death Eater quickly got back on his feet and sent another blasting hex, but at the last moment Harry was able to raise a shield which was just able to stop the spell. The shield did not however have enough power behind it to stop Crouch Jr's follow up spell, a bone breaking curse which hit Harry in the left arm just below the shoulder. Harry screamed in pain as he dropped the shield spell and tried to move towards cover. His left arm now hung uselessly at his side. Harry knew he needed time to catch his breath and grinned as a spell he had learned for the first task but never had to use came to mind.

Crouch Jr was now moving around the room in order to get a better shot at Harry and was completely surprised when he saw the teenager transfigure a chair into a wolf that growled angrily and lept at him. Before he could defend himself the wolf was on him with its claws and teeth tearing into his flesh. The wolf's teeth were digging painfully into his shoulder when he managed to cast a severing charm at its head, killing it and forcing it to revert to its previous shape. As he got back to his feet Harry walked towards him and screamed "Bombarda!". The force of the spell hit Crouch Jr in the chest and sent him flying into the wall where the impact broke the wood paneling. Crouch Jr was casting a new spell as soon as he hit the ground. This time Harry raised a shield to block the yellow acid spell which Crouch Jr seemed to be so fond of. The spell struck his shield and fizzled out harmlessly.

Barty Crouch Jr was shocked, he had clearly underestimated the boy and the power he was capable of putting behind his spells. There was no way a fourth year student should be able to shield against his spells, and yet Harry Potter could do it. Growling in pain and frustration, Crouch Jr rose to his feet and yelled "Crucio!" Harry shouted "Protego!" in response, remembering at the last moment that it was not possible to shield against the torture curse but by then it was too late. As the spell hit him Harry felt like every inch of his body was being stabbed by burning knives dipped in poison. His screams of pain echoed loudly through the classroom, bringing a smile of pleasure to Crouch Jr's face. The Death Eater ended the spell long enough to taunt Harry.

"Perhaps I should drive you insane like we did to the Longbottoms. That wouldn't technically be breaking my master's command now would it?" he asked as Harry writhed in pain below him. Crouch Jr laughed and then recast the spell, enjoying the screams of pain he was causing. Neither of them knew that Harry's screams would end up saving him.

Next door Professor Flitwick was teaching Charms to a group of second year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. The class was progressing normally until about ten minutes into the class when the professor and all of the students froze at the sound of someone screaming out in pain next door. Without a word to the students Professor Flitwick was out of the room with his wand in hand and racing to the adjacent class. When he threw open the door he was shocked to see one of his colleagues casting the Unforgivable Cruciatus curse on a student.

"Moody! Unhand him!" the small professor yelled, causing Crouch Jr to look up in surprise. When Crouch Jr saw the other professor he knew his plans to simply Obliviate Potter were ruined. Angry that he had been discovered, the Death Eater turned and tried to cast the torture curse on the tiny Charms professor. But what Crouch Jr had forgotten was that despite his small stature Professor Flitwick was a former dueling champion and a wizard that should not ever be underestimated. The incantation had not even finished leaving Crouch Jr's lips when Flitwick began moving with a speed that must have somehow been magically enhanced. The small wizard lept from table to table, closing the distance between them and dodging every spell that the impostor who still looked like Mad Eye Moody cast. The whole time Professor Flitwick was running, jumping, and dodging curses he kept his wand moving in quick but precise movements silently casting a variety of spells.

Harry's pain had subsided enough for him to look up at the duel that was now going on. Crouch Jr was immediately forced on the defensive by the sheer number of spells being cast by the Charms professor. From his point of view it seemed as though Flitwick was casting one or two spells every second, most of which Crouch Jr was able to raise a shield against but still a few were able to penetrate his defenses. One spell set the impostors pants leg on fire while another caused his face to break out in boils. It seemed that Flitwick's strategy was to cast so many spells that his opponent had no choice but to keep his shield raised, putting him permanently on the defensive. Slowly Crouch Jr's shield was beginning to break under the constant onslaught and he knew that he would have no choice but to flee.

Crouch Jr dropped his shield and began to run towards the exit. While he did he yelled out "Incendio!" several times and was able to start a number of fires as the wooden tables and chairs burned. Flitwick's attention dropped for a second as he began casting Aguamenti, producing huge jets of water that put out the fires. In the short time that took Crouch Jr was out the door and running down the halls towards the exit. Professor Flitwick took a quick glance at Harry who was still lying on the floor groaning in pain but obviously alive before running back out the door. The Charms professor softly cursed as he walked out of the classroom, knowing that the other man had been able to escape. Looking out the window he could clearly see Professor Moody running towards the edge of the wards and away from Hogwarts. Flitwick decided there was little else that could be done about it now and went back inside to check on Harry.

"Mr Potter, I know you are in a lot of pain right now but I need to know what spells you were hit by." Professor Flitwick said once he had reached Harry, who was now sitting up and leaning against the wall trying to catch his breath.

"Other than the two Crucio's, he hit my shoulder pretty hard with something and caught my arm with a bone breaking hex. That's all." Harry explained. "Professor Flitwick, I know it looked like him but that was not Professor Moody. He said his name was Barty Crouch Jr and he must have been taking Polyjuice Potion to make him look like Moody. The real Moody is up in the office somewhere, probably being kept as a prisoner somehow."

Professor Flitwick's mouth opened in shock at Harry's explanation. He knew that Barty Crouch Jr was supposed to have died years ago in Azkaban, but if he was right then perhaps the real Alistor Moody was in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office and would be able to cooberate the story.

"Can you stand, Harry?" the small professor asked. Harry nodded and slowly got to his feet, shaking a bit as he did. After a few moments he felt confident enough to walk and the two headed towards the office. Once inside they looked around but did not see any sign of Mad Eye Moody. "Step aside, Harry" Flitwick commanded as his eyes fell on a large trunk shoved into the corner. A blue burst of magic lept from Flitwicks wand and the trunk's many locks began to open. As the final lock clicked the lid opened and they both went over to look inside. Harry was surprised to see that the space inside the trunk was huge, many times bigger than it should have been without magic. And laying at the bottom of the trunk was the real Mad Eye Moody. He looked weak and malnourished, but other than that uninjured.

"Filius? Is that you?" the true Moody asked and began to stand up.

"Wonderful to see you again, Alistor" Professor Flitwick answered. "If I lowered a ladder could you climb up?"

"Aye, I believe I could. Just get me out of here."

Professor Flitwick nodded and conjured a long rope ladder. With Harry's help they tied one end to the heavy desk in the middle of the room and threw the other end down inside the trunk. A few minutes and some colorful swearing complaining about only having one good leg later and Moody was out of the trunk and sitting down in an office chair.

"Both of you need to get to the Hospital wing." Flitwick noted while transfiguring a quill into a crutch for Moody to use. "And I'm sure Albus is going to have a load of questions."

"No doubt about that, Filius." Professor Moody agreed. He then nodded in Harry's direction and asked "Why's he here?"

"He was fighting someone Polyjuiced to look like you when I found him. He was being held under the Cruciatus at the time. Harry claims that the man said he was Barty Crouch Jr."

Moody nodded and looked at Harry, evaluating him. "Are you ok, lad?"

"I'll be fine, Professor." Harry assured him. "I landed a few hits on him, too. Your magic eye should still be lying in the classroom somewhere." Moody began to laugh at Harry's response.

"Good job. Let's go get patched up." Moody suggested and the three men began walking towards the infirmary. Professor Flitwick briefly stopped at his classroom to tell the confused students that class was dismissed early and to practice what they had been working on for the next class. Harry was walking a little stiffly, still feeling the effects of being held under the Cruciatus for so long. Professor Moody meanwhile was clearly weak but excited to be able to walk around after being trapped in a trunk for so long. When they finally reached the hospital wing ten minutes later both Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore were waiting for them.

"It would appear that you three must have quite the story to tell." Professor Dumbledore noted with a small smile. "But first I am sure Madame Pomfrey would like to take a look at you." They all nodded and Harry and Moody were escorted to hospital beds while Professor Flitwick sat down in a chair explaining that he had not been struck by any spells. The healer began with Harry who was obviously still in pain.

"Madame Pomfrey, this isn't going to take long is it?" Harry asked as she began casting diagnostic spells. "I really need to get out of here and go talk to someone." The older witch frowned at her patient's desire to leave.

"Mr Potter you have a broken arm, a separated shoulder, and are still feeling the residual effects of exposure to the Cruciatus curse. Lay back down, you are not going anywhere for at least the next few hours. If your arm is as bad as I think it might be I will have to keep you overnight so we can it with Skelegrow." Harry groaned in disappointment that he would be stuck in the hospital, yet again, while he had other things he needed to do. Specifically he meant finding Daphne and making sure she was ok after that horrible article in the Daily Prophet. His only hope now was that she would hear he was hurt and come looking for him.

Harry glanced over to the other occupied bed in the room where Alistor Moody was talking to Professor Dumbledore. He assumed that Moody was explaining what had happened to him and why he spent the last few months locked in a trunk in his office. The twinkle was completely gone from Dumbledore's eyes and he clearly had a look of regret on his face. Eventually their conversation ended and Dumbledore headed over to his bed.

"Harry, do you think you feel up to explaining what happened today?" the Headmaster asked. Harry nodded and began telling him everything, beginning with his suspicions regarding Moody, seeing the wrong name on the Marauder's Map, his conversation with Barty Crouch Jr, and then their duel. The entire time Dumbledore listened silently and nodded in the appropriate places. When Harry's story was over the old Professor sat in his chair stroking his beard and thinking about what he had heard. "When you are feeling better I would like your permission to view the memory in my pensieve. Do you know what a pensieve is, Harry? No? It is a large bowl in which memories can be magically stored and relived. It helps me to organize my thoughts. You might also like to see a memory I have regarding Barty Crouch Jr's unmasking as a Death Eater and capture."

"I would like that sir, thank you." Harry answered.

"What is on your mind, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. "Surely you aren't blaming yourself for Crouch Jr's escape, are you?" Harry lowered his eyes and nodded a little.

"I almost had him, sir. And then I messed up and forgot you can't block the Cruciatus curse. I knew that, but I didn't react quick enough." Harry explained.

"I am sure you did, Harry. I must say I am extremely pleased at how well you did, better than I could have ever hoped. You must not blame yourself for your hesitation. Conditioning yourself to dodge that curse on instinct takes experience, which you now have. Tell me, do you think that you will hesitate if you are ever in that situation again?"

"No. I think I learned my lesson." Harry answered.

"Exactly. Improvement is often quite painful, a fact the best of wizards learn early. Now I shall leave you to rest, unless there is anything else you require of me." Dumbledore said while rising out of his chair.

"Actually, if you see Daphne Greengrass could you ask her to come visit me? I would really appreciate it." Harry said, trying not to act a little embarrassed at his request.

"Of course, Harry. I have found that good company often helps the healing process." Dumbledore answered with a large knowing smile before turning and walking out the door leaving Harry alone.

Harry used the time to think about all that had happened this morning. He wondered if it would have been better if he had simply run out of the classroom as soon as Crouch Jr asked him to stay after class but realized that would not have done much good because the impostor has already figured out that he knew something was wrong because of Wormtail's warning about the map. Crouch Jr would have come after him even if he had run, Harry was certain of that. Perhaps it was better to face that challenge head on.

Harry thought he had done OK in the duel; certain he had the advantage until his mistake in dealing with Crouch Jr's Crucio. He knew he would need to work on his spell variety and learning to put more energy behind his shields. Harry realized that the reason his shields dropped so quickly was because he had developed the bad habit of never putting his full strength behind them. He had never needed to when practicing against Daphne. 'I'll do better next time.' Harry vowed to himself.

He also now knew that Voldemort wanted him in the tournament but also wanted to be the one to kill him. The second part he could understand, but why would Voldemort order Crouch Jr to put his name in the Goblet of Fire? If all Voldemort wanted to do was kill him then that just seemed unnecessary. Harry felt as if by answering one question he had only stumbled on to another. He would have to be very careful from now on. Voldemort was still out there and now had at least two Death Eaters helping him. If there was a way for him to regain his body they would find it.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted when he saw the door open suddenly and Daphne rush in. After a quick glance around the room she spotted him and ran over to his bed where Harry sat up to meet her. Harry noticed her red eyes and guessed that she had been crying, although whether it was because of the article in the Daily Prophet attacking her or his current condition he did not know. Once she reached him Daphne wrapped her arms around Harry in a tight hug which he returned as best he could using his one good arm. For a few minutes neither of the spoke, but simply held each other. Both of them silently wished they had been able to do a better job protecting the other. Finally, Harry moved over far enough so that Daphne could sit on the bed with him.

"It's ok, Daphne. I'm going to be fine so don't worry about that. Are you ok?" Harry asked.

"I thought I was having a bad day and then you have to go and get yourself attacked. There are easier ways to make me feel better than just trying to have a worse day than me you know." Daphne said with the beginnings of a smile on her face. "You first, Harry. Tell me everything."

And so Harry did. As he repeated his tale Daphne's mind was in overdrive trying to piece together everything that Barty Crouch Jr had told him. Like Harry, she still could not figure out why the Dark Lord went to the trouble of putting Harry in the tournament to begin with. It just seemed like a pointless addition if the plan was merely to kill him. Daphne wanted to keep discussing it, but Harry had other ideas.

"I've told you my story, now I want to hear about you. Daphne, I'm sorry I got you into all of this. If it weren't for me the Daily Prophet wouldn't be writing those awful things about you and your family."

"It's not your fault, Harry." Daphne reminded him.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I'm sorry about your brother, I understand why you wouldn't want to talk about it." Harry said, hoping to comfort her a little.

"There's no one else I would rather talk to about it. I was only seven years old when it happened. That morning David, Astoria, and I had been playing in a room on the third floor at our family home. There is this balcony that looked out over the porch and back yard and apparently someone had left the door to the balcony open. David went out on to the balcony and must have been climbing the railing. I didn't see him fall, and neither did Astoria, but we both heard him yell when he went over the top of the guardrails. By the time the healers got there it was too late, there are some things that even magic can't fix." Daphne said softly. At this Harry hugged her a little tighter and waited for her to continue.

"Remember the night we first met? You asked me what I saw in the Mirror of Erised and I wouldn't tell you? I saw my family, just like you did. I guess that might have been when I started to wonder if we might have more in common than I had thought."

"Thank you for telling me that, Daphne." Harry told her. "And I promise you that we will have our revenge against Rita Skeeter. She is going to wish she had never even heard the names Harry Potter or Daphne Greengrass." Daphne grinned at this and then leaned towards him and kissed him. When she leaned back a few seconds later he had a goofy looking smile on his face that made her laugh a little.

"That's exactly what I was thinking, Harry."

* * *

Author's Note:

Every time I thought about how Professor Flitwick would fight all I could think of was the Yoda fights from the Star Wars prequels. I wonder if my inspiration shows. Then again no one has called me out on beginning this in the fourth part of the story and including the words "new hope" in the title so... maybe not.

My take on Harry's strength at this point is that although he is probably now a match for most full grown wizards he is severely lacking in real battle experience. He lost to Crouch Jr not because he was too weak but because he wasn't used to fighting someone using Unforgivable or unblockable curses.

This was a pretty quick chapter but don't expect another until the weekend. Thanks again to everyone who reads and especially to those who comment.


	11. Chapter 11

By the next day rumors were swirling about what had happened to Professor Moody. Most seemed to agree that he and Harry Potter had fought each other, but who won and why they were fighting varied from story to story. Harry's insistence that he had been fighting Barty Crouch Jr and not Professor Moody was usually met with confused reactions since no one really had any idea who Barty Crouch Jr was, and the few who did thought he was already dead. For the rest of that week Defense Against the Dark Arts was being taught by Professor Snape, as he had done the previous year during Professor Lupin's absences. This, of course, prompted disappointed groans from three quarters of the school and excited cheers from the rest.

Aurors had come and taken statements from him and Alastor Moody concerning what had happened. They promised to look into it before they left, but a week later the Ministry had done nothing and no mention of it had been made in the Daily Prophet. Obviously, someone was trying to cover up what had happened. The only relevent article that Harry had seen was one announcing that Barty Crouch Sr was giving up his position in the Ministry and retiring. Harry had a strong hunch that Barty Crouch Sr was not going to be heard of again, either because he was in hiding or because his son had murdered him. Once again Harry was frustrated at the wizarding world's corruption and inability to face the truth. He wasn't surprised that no one believed him, he was a future dark lord in their eyes after all, but they had ignored the warnings of Mad Eye Moody. If the Ministry and Prophet wouldn't listen to one of the most respected Aurors ever who would they listen to? 'Maybe it would be better if we got rid of them both and started over.' Harry had thought in his frustration.

Harry had learned that the Greengrass family's first reaction to the articles against Daphne was to buy a significant piece of the newspaper. According to Daphne, they now owned seven percent of the Daily Prophet which was enough to get them never to mention the Greengrasses in a negative light ever again but not enough to have their star writer fired. Rita Skeeter's downfall would not be so easy, it seemed. Daphne's father, Daniel Greengrass, was meanwhile checking up on rumors that Rita Skeeter had a secret and illegal method of getting stories. No one seemed to be willing to say exactly what it was so far but the angered father was determined to find out.

Dumbledore had assured Harry that he had his own search for Crouch Jr going on, but they had not had any luck tracking him down. Likely, they decided, he was already back with Wormtail and Voldemort wherever they were hiding. And so, since nothing could be done, life returned back to normal. Or as close to normal as it could get.

* * *

Harry patiently waited for Charms class to end. Ever since seeing Professor Flitwick duel Barty Crouch Jr he had wanted to talk about it with his professor. Harry was still in awe of the speed and aggressiveness which the small man displayed during the fight and wondered if that was something he could learn. Finally, Professor Flitwick dismissed the class with a note that their essays on the Patronus Charm were due the next period. Harry grinned at that and wondered if he could get extra credit by producing one. As the rest of the class left Harry remained seated and when the room was almost empty he approached the desk where Professor Flitwick was still gathering his things.

"Hi, Professor. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Harry asked.

"Certainly, Harry. How are you feeling?"

"I'm great. It took a few days for the soreness to wear off but I feel normal again now." Harry explained truthfully. One thing he had not known about the Cruciatus curse until he experienced it was that the pain seemed to stay with you even after the spell was lifted. There were potions that could dull the pain, but only time could get rid of it completely.

"Excellent! Now, what can I help you with?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Well, I've been thinking about the fight with Crouch Jr. I did ok, right up until the Crucio, but when you started fighting he didn't stand a chance. How were you able to move so fast and cast so many spells?"

"Ahh, I see. Harry, my proficiency in dueling is due to a combination of my own natural talents and decades of practice. I am sorry to say that there is no secret trick that will enable you to do it in a short amount of time. But I can help you to get started if you would like." Professor Flitwick offered.

"That would be great!" Harry said enthusiastically. "I'd really like to be able to move as fast as you did."

"That is one thing I can not teach." Flitwick answered. "It is not a spell that makes that possible. It is a natural skill that can be done without a wand, much like Animagus transformations or Metamorphmagus changes. I am what's known as a Curromagus, which is basically a witch or wizard that is able to use magic to boost their natural speed and reflexes. We are quite rare, although not as rare as Metamorphmagi, and a person is either born one or not. There is no way to become one."

"I see." Harry answered, the disappointment clear in his voice. "I guess that means I'm not one."

"It is unlikely, but still possible. The differences usually do not become clear until a wizard is a little older than you are now. I was 16 before I discovered the ability, although even before that I was aware that I had very good reflexes. If I were to suspect that anyone in this school might be a Curromagus I would suspect you, Harry."

"Really? Why?" Harry asked with a look of confusion on his face.

"Mainly because of the way I've seen you act during Quidditch. Your success in that sport is not due solely to your abilities to fly a broom, but in the speed with which you are able to react to Snitch as it changed directions. It is quite impressive, Harry, and one reason among many I wish you had been sorted into Ravenclaw." the small professor explained with a chuckle. "Wait and see, Harry. Perhaps you are a Curromagus, perhaps not. Either way you should remember that there is more to dueling than simply magical power. Honestly speaking, one day you will be a far more powerful wizard than I."

"Do you really think so?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Of course. You are stronger than most, while I am merely average." Flitwick admitted.

"You have to be better than average, sir. I heard you were a duelling champion, that's far from average."

"Ah but you missed the point, Harry. What I meant was that I am not capable of putting as much power behind my spells as many other wizards are. Because of that it is much wiser for me to avoid spells in a fight rather than trying to shield against them. Due to my size and Curromagus talents I am uniquely capable of doing this." Flitwick explained.

"OK, I think I understand that. But how were you able to cast spells so quickly? Was that just another part of the Curromagus abilities?" Harry asked, surprised to be learning so much.

"Partly, but not completely. I utilize a talent that any witch or wizard can do but only professional duelers ever bother to master. It is a way of linking spells together so that your wand never stops moving. In order to link two spells together the last wand movement of the first spell must be the same as the first wand movement of the second spell. If they are, you can do the movement once when casting one spell right after the other. For instance, what is the last movement in the disarming charm, Expelliarmus?" Flitwick asked, reverting back to his teaching attitude.

"A full clockwise spin." Harry answered confidently.

"Correct! And what spell can you think of that begins with a clockwise spin?"

Harry had to think about that for a few seconds, but finally remembered one. "The body bind curse does."

"An excellent suggestion, and the one I was hoping you would remember. So using one movement but two incantations it is possible to quickly disarm and bind an adversary."

"Wow, that sounds really useful. Why doesn't everyone use that technique?" Harry asked.

"It takes practice to learn the skill well enough to get to the point where the increase in casting speed is noticeable, and most people that aren't professional duelers have no reason to learn it. Beginners often create what are called chains of linked spells and practice the same ones over and over so that they can use them in a duel. The problem with this is that an advanced dueler will see the first spell in the chain and know what is coming after it. Masters of the technique are able to create chains as they cast." Flitwick explained.

"You're a master, aren't you?" Harry asked with a knowing smile on his face.

"I am. And it took me decades to reach this point. If you want to improve you must practice, Harry. I have seen how easy the spells in this class have become for you, so you must be studying ahead of time. Tell me, how far ahead are you?"

"Either finishing sixth year or starting seventh in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense. I guess I have been practicing almost non-stop since my name came out of the Goblet of Fire." Harry admitted.

"Your dedication shows. If I may make a suggestion though: don't neglect practice on casting speed, accuracy, and curse dodging. They are just as valuable as the number of spells you know and how strong you can cast them." the small professor advised.

"Thank you, Professor Flitwick. You've given me a lot to think about."

"Good luck in the tournament, Harry. I'll be cheering for you."

"Thanks! Bye, Professor." Harry said happily and turned to walk out the door. He had underestimated how much he could learn from his Charms professor and wondered what the other professors could teach him that wasn't normally discussed in class. The ultimate source of information would likely be Professor Dumbledore, but he always seemed to be busy with something although Harry still didn't know what the Headmaster's job really entailed. Professor Flitwick had given him some good ideas, though. Harry's dedication to improving himself had not wavered. In fact it was stronger now that he had tested himself against Crouch Jr and come up lacking. 'That won't happen again.' Harry thought to himself, strangely hoping for another chance to fight Barty Crouch Jr.

* * *

In another part of the castle, Draco Malfoy was plotting his revenge and thinking about his nemesis Harry Potter. He had disliked Potter since the day his offer of friendship had been rejected in favor of the blood-traitor Ron Weasley who Potter apparently wasn't even speaking to now. Over the years he and Potter had fought constantly, causing his dislike of the other boy to grow. This year had by far been the worst of them all.

When the Triwizard Tournament was announced Draco had loudly announced that he would have entered the tournament if it were not for the age line. The other Slytherins had nodded and agreed that he would have easily won it. His interest in the tournament would have ended there if Potter had not found a way to trick the cup and get into the tournament. After that everyone started asking him why he hadn't snuck into the tournament when Potter had been able to. It was yet another humiliation he had to endure at the hands of his rival. Worse than that was when Potter had shown up to the Yule Ball with Daphne Greengrass who was easily the prettiest girl in Slytherin. And as the prettiest Slytherin she was supposed to be his. Draco had approached her several times but been turned down each one. Pansy Parkinson, his date to the Yule Ball, didn't seem to understand why he was so angry when Potter and Greengrass showed up. Draco did not feel the need to explain himself to her.

The final insult had been finding Potter sitting at the Slytherin table and then causing him to get detention. It was all Potter's fault, just like everything bad that happened to him. His dominance in the school should be unchallenged, but Potter had prevented that. And so, Harry Potter would pay the price for his crimes against him. And if he couldn't get to Potter directly, he would have his revenge through Greengrass. She had also shown herself to be a thorn in his side and so deserved it.

'But how should they be punished?' was the question now on Draco's mind which was now drawing a blank. As he struggled to formulate a plan he grew more frustrated and angry, once again blaming everything on Harry Potter. 'You will pay, Potter!' his mind screamed, 'One way or another you will pay.'

* * *

Hermione finally found Daphne in the library after looking for her for almost an hour. 'Funny,' Hermione thought, 'that the last place I look for her would be the first place people would look for me.' As Hermione approached she saw that the other girl with with a couple of books open writing an essay. Daphne didn't look up until Hermione had sat down at the across the table from her.

"Hermione?" Daphne asked as she noticed her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong really." Hermione answered, although obviously something was on her mind. "What are you working on?"

"The essay McGonagall assigned about the Third Law of Transfiguration. Looks like I only have four inches left, actually. Is that why you're here?" Daphne asked, still not sure why the other girl was talking to her. Daphne and Hermione had slowly moved from polite to somewhat friendly when interacting with each other during the practice sessions with Harry, however this was the first time that either of them had sought out the other away from that situation.

"No." Hermione answered and then leaned in towards Daphne, speaking softly so as not to be overheard for the next part. "It's about our training with Harry." At this Daphne puts down her quill and looks towards Hermione curiously.

"What about it?"

"I didn't tell Harry because he'd just say I was being ridiculous." Hermione started, seemingly very reluctant to admit whatever it was she was thinking about. "I'm not as strong you two, and I don't think I will ever be able to keep up with either of you." she admitted.

"That's not exactly true, you know." Daphne said thoughtfully. "There are some spells that you can do as good as Harry, maybe even better. You were the first one to pick up on those battlefield healing charms and the best with them."

"Maybe, but all of my attack spells are weak." Hermione said sadly. It was then that Daphne noticed tears in the other girl's eyes just waiting to be shed. "I just want to be able to help out Harry when he needs me, but I feel so useless."

"I know for a fact that Harry does not think you are useless. He depends on you more than you know." Daphne reassured her.

"He did. But not anymore, he depends on you now."

"I guess so, but my relationship with Harry is a lot different than yours." This response finally drew out a small smile from Hermione.

"And what exactly is you relationship with him?" she asked with a little grin.

"Let's stick with talking about you. You know that I am not trying to replace you, or ruin your friendship with him right?" Daphne asked.

"I know that, and I am not really afraid of losing Harry's friendship anymore. We've patched things up well enough. I just want to find a way to make myself useful. Every year Harry manages to get himself into some kind of trouble and most times he has had me and Ron to back him up. But Ron's gone now and Harry's problems seem to be getting bigger and more dangerous. Both of you have improved so quickly, I just wonder if he will even need me around."

"Don't be daft, Granger." Daphne said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Surely you didn't miss the lesson where we were told that all witches and wizards seem to have some branches of magic they are better at than others. So battle spells aren't your thing, who cares? Figure out what your good at and keep trying to improve."

Hermione seemed to think about that for a moment and then gave a little nod in agreement. "I suppose you're right. If nothing else I will be there to help him research whatever he is going to face. Thanks Daphne, I needed to hear that."

"Sure." Daphne shrugged and then went back to her essay. Hermione recognized that as the end of their conversation and left the table so that Daphne could get back to her essay. Hermione didn't know why she had originally thought it would be a good idea to ask Daphne about her worries but was glad she did. As she walked out of the library Hermione's mind was racing as it tried to think of ways to objectively determine what branches of magic she was best at. Pictures of charts and graphs showing the results of her experiments were already popping up in her head.

* * *

Harry sat at the edge of the lake getting ready to begin his first real underwater exploration. After hours upon hours of research he had determined that there was nothing in the lake beyond his capabilities to handle as long as he did not anger the Merpeople village. Merpeople had their own brand of magic that rivaled that of humans. No one was really sure which was better because there had never been a true war between humans and Merpeople. The fact that one lived on land and the other underwater seemed to keep them separate enough to ease any conflicts that might arise.

After casting a warming charm and the bubble head charm Harry dove under the water. He immediately noticed that the bubble head charm seemed to help his visibility underwater a little as if he had been wearing goggles. Still, the visibility was poor towards the shore but as he swam farther out he was relieved to find that it was improving. This part of the lake appeared to be calm and Harry took the time to stop swimming and observe his surroundings.

The lake was far deeper than he had thought it would be. The first fifty feet or so from the shore were shallow but that was followed by a steep drop that led to the main part of the lake. From his vantage point Harry could a large, dark shape gracefully moving in the distance and assumed it was the giant squid. Schools of fish were swimming away from the squid as quickly as they could. The floor of the lake was covered with green plants that swayed in the currents. Elsewhere, Harry could see the ruins of what was once an impressive stone building and he briefly wondered what had happened to it. He could not see the Merpeople village from here, but guessed that it would be in a deeper part of the lake in the direction the giant squid had come from.

Having no desire to meet the Merpeople yet, Harry began swimming in the opposite direction and continued trying to remember the layout of the lake. It was going to be much more difficult than he had anticipated, he realized, because the lake was far larger than he had assumed. Even if he spent all of his free time in the lake there was no way he could map out all of it by the time of the second task. Perhaps simply exploring the lake was not the solution he had been looking for. Frowning slightly, Harry realized he would have to start thinking of another way to ensure victory in the next round.

For the next hour Harry continued to explore, slowly coming to the realization that he much preferred life on the ground or in the air to that underwater. On the ground he could run and on his broom he could soar through the air at even higher speeds, but under water he was painfully slow. He attempted to use blasting hexes to propel himself forward but all that did was blow a hole in a nearby rock. He made a mental note to look up spells that would help him move underwater and continued on.

Harry was swimming through a deep valley when he noticed group of creatures approaching him. As they got closer he saw that they were Grindylows and there were four of them. The pale green animals have sharp green teeth and horns. Although aggressive on their own, it is as a pack that they become truly dangerous. Four Grindylows should not be ignored, but are not a real threat. That was when Harry noticed that the group of Grindylows in front of him was not his only problem. Four more Grindylows had managed to sneak up on him from behind. Harry cursed, wondering how he had let that happen, and then realized that he could hear very little of what was going on underwater. A fact that was probably made worse by the bubble head charm he was using. 'There's another reason to use the gillyweed in the tournament' Harry thought as he drew his wand and prepared to fight off the underwater beasts.

"Relashio!" Harry called, sending the revulsion jinx at the group in front of him. One of the books he had read recommended the jinx when fighting Grindylows but he was disappointed to see that the spell merely knocked them back a few feet and made them angry. Groaning at his spell's failure, Harry turned and sent a powerful banishing charm at the group behind him which knocked them back far enough so that he would have time to take on the first group. Those four angry Grindylows were rapidly advancing.

"Defodio!" he said, pointing his wand at one of the Grindylows. He wasn't quite sure what the gouging curse would do to a Grindylow and cast it more out of curiosity than anything else. He was quite surprised to see a large chunk of the creature's chest fall off its body as it briefly screamed before dying. 'That was a little disgusting...' Harry thought as he prepared to cast the next spell. A quick wave of the wand and a yell of "Diffindo" was enough to sever the head of another Grindylow leaving only six of them left.

Sensing that the other group of Grindylows had recovered from his banishing charm, Harry turned and cast "Expulso!" The explosion curse was surprisingly effective, taking out two of the Grindylows and injuring a third. The other Grindylow in the group seemed to realize that the battle had been lost and fled, taking along its injured fellow attacker with it. Harry returned his focus on the last two Grindylows to see that they were surprisingly close. Harry summoned a rock towards him and then banished it at the vicious little creatures head, knocking it out or killing it (Harry wasn't sure), as its friend reached Harry and bit into his ankle. Harry screamed in pain and then sent a "Reducto" at the animal which hit it in the chest with enough power to disintegrate almost half of its body.

As Harry cast a healing charm on his ankles he looked around the valley, surveying the damage he had caused. Pieces of the Grindylows were still floating everywhere and the water was pink with their blood. It was enough to make Harry feel a bit nauseous. All in all he had done well getting out of what was basically an ambush with only a few little bite marks. Even his spell variety was better than it had been against Barty Crouch Jr. Of course he had not been frightened today like he had been against the Death Eater, but perhaps it was also a sign that he was getting more and more used to fighting. He also felt a little more confident about the second task, knowing that a pack of angry Grindylows was one of the most dangerous things that a wizard could expect to find in the lake. 'I've had a productive day.' Harry thought as he began swimming to the surface, happy with the day's events.

* * *

Daphne found Harry shortly after he re-entered the castle from his trip to the lake. Harry was walking swiftly towards the Gryffindor dorms when she saw him pass by, though he apparently did not notice her. Grinning, she decided that simply calling out his name was too easy of a way to get his attention. When her silent sticking charms hit his shoes and pinned them to the ground Harry's eyes began darting around, looking for danger. By the time he noticed Daphne standing off to the side laughing he had already dispelled the sticking charm.

"Ten points from Slytherin, Ms Greengrass. There is to be no spell casting in the halls, you know that." Harry said playfully.

"Just checking your reflexes, Mr Potter." Daphne answered as she walked towards him and took his arm. They had taken a few steps when she stopped and sniffed the air. "What is that smell? What have you been doing all day?"

"I've been in the lake for the last few hours actually. As for the smell, I suspect it might be Grindylow guts. I was actually on my way to get cleaned up."

"You obviously need it." she replied. "So, how did the first time under the lake go?"

"Pretty good, but I think the gillyweed will definitely be a better solution. I can't hear or smell anything with the bubble head charm, I won't have that problem with gillyweed." Harry answered as they continued walking. "Plus gillyweed is supposed to change your hand and feet to make them better suited for swimming. I am going to have to look for a spell to increase my speed under water if that doesn't work."

"I see. What about mapping out the lake?"

"It's too big. I'll keep going down there and learn the major landmarks, but I won't have time to do more than that. I need figure out where they are going to hide whatever they take from me." Harry said, still a little frustrated that his original idea didn't work out.

"Or a way to find it..." Daphne said as a thought struck her. "There might be a way to do that, assuming you can figure out what they are going to take. Think about it."

"Alright. Are you still interested in coming with me next time?"

"Yes, assuming I don't end up smelling like you." she answered, smiling. "You need to talk to Hermione."

"Why?" Harry asked, wondering if his friend was in trouble.

"Not my place to say. Just do it." Daphne commanded. Harry nodded, hoping there wasn't a problem.

"I will." Harry promised. "Hey Daphne, next weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend and I was wondering if you would like to go with me."

"A second date then Harry? My, I must have made a good impression." Daphne said while Harry blushed. "Of course I will, Harry. I'd kiss you, but I have no desire to let that smell taint me. Go get cleaned up first."

"Great!" Harry said, now sporting a huge smile. "See you after dinner, ok?"

"Sure, now go. Your stench is making me sick." she joked as they both turned and went their separate ways. Neither of them had noticed Draco Malfoy standing in a nearby doorway listening to their conversation. Nor had they seen him grin as an idea began to form in his mind.

* * *

Author's Note:

I've got to say thanks to all of you who have been kind enough to correct my mistakes, whether that is on the spelling of Moody's name or reminding me of the difference between slander and libel. I do appreciate it very much. I hope you keep reading and commenting.


	12. Chapter 12

Harry was on his way to Transfigurations class when he was stopped by a nervous looking second year Ravenclaw that he recognized but could not name. The younger boy seemed reluctant to approach Harry for some reason, perhaps he believed that the person in front of him was a future dark lord like the Daily Prophet was so fond of accusing. Once he had turned the letter he was carrying over to Harry the boy ran off as fast as he could, leaving Harry to laugh at his irrational fear. When he opened the letter he was surprised to see that it was from Professor Dumbledore.

_Harry,_

I was wondering if you might like to stop by my office this evening to discuss recent events. I shall be waiting for you at 8 PM.

Professor Dumbledore

PS: You will find that the gargoyle adores 'everlasting gobstoppers'

Harry chuckled when he heard the clue to the password for Professor Dumbledore's office, it seemed that the old man was developing a taste for muggle sweets. Harry was a bit annoyed that the Headmaster had waited until Friday night to schedule their meeting but realized that it had been a long time since Dumbledore was a teenager and maybe he had just forgotten that most of them have better things to do with their Friday evenings than sit in their professor's office, especially when it was an optional meeting and not for detention. Harry knew he would be going anyway, he just didn't have to be happy about the timing.

Most of the students were headed to their last class of the day, although like on any other Hogsmeade weekend the excitement for the older students was not just due to the fact that there would be no classes the next day but because they would finally have the chance to get out of the castle. Even a castle as big as Hogwarts can get boring after someone has been there long enough. Harry was more excited than most because it would mark his second date with Daphne and he wanted nothing more than for her to have a good time. Luckily for him they were fourth year students and had only been allowed to go to Hogsmeade for two years, officially one for Harry. Had they been older Harry would have found that he must do much more to impress a girl than simply lunch and shopping in Hogsmeade.

Hours later dinner had ended and it was time for him to meet Dumbledore. His office was located in a wing of the castle that no one usually went down unless they were looking specifically for the Headmaster. There were no other used classrooms or offices nearby either. Harry walked through the silent hall and eventually found the entrance he was looking for.

"Everlasting gobstoppers." Harry said loudly. A moment after he did the gargoyle slowly moved out of the way revealing a staircase that Harry knew led up to Professor Dumbledore's office. As Harry began to walk up the stairs he noticed that he could hear voices coming from the office itself. He stopped, not wanting to intrude on the Professor's meeting, but could still clearly hear the voices.

"Are you certain, Severus?" Harry heard the Headmaster ask.

"Yes. Igor has fled." the voice of Professor Snape said with certainty. "The Durmstrang students are in an uproar. The assistant Headmaster is trying his best to calm them, but with little luck. I believe the Durmstang delegation will leave Hogwarts within a week."

"I see. Krum must still compete in the tournament of course, although it would be possible for them to arrange an international portkey for him to use. Do you not think that Karkaroff's choice seems premature?"

"Perhaps, but the mark gets clearer with every passing day. The Dark Lord is rising again, but for now all of the other Death Eaters I have questioned have decided to wait and see what happens. I suspect that at the moment he is only receiving help from Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Jr. That makes it the best time to run and hide. Igor may even survive."

"Very good. Continue as you were and we shall discuss this further at a later date. I believe my eight o'clock appointment is here. Come in Harry." Professor Dumbledore called. Harry walked up the last of the stairs to find Professor Snape almost growling at him, apparently very angry that any of their conversation had been overheard. "Good night, Severus."

The Potions professor gave a stiff nod before turning and exiting the room, never once dropping the angry look on his face. Harry looked back at Professor Dumbledore to find him smiling brightly, as if everything were completely normal.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't want to interrupt you." Harry explained.

"Do not trouble yourself about that, Harry. I assume that you heard Headmaster Karkaroff is no longer at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, sir. Why exactly is he running? Is it from Voldemort or Barty Crouch Jr?"

"Perhaps a bit of both." Dumbledore answered. "You will soon see for yourself why Karkaroff has reason to fear each of them. I would like to show you a memory that would explain the situation and for that we shall use my pensieve. Come, I will show you how it works." Dumbledore led Harry over to a large stone bowl which contained a silvery liquid that moved as if it were alive. Harry started to lean forward to get a better look when Dumbledore placed his hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"Not yet, Harry. Once I call up the memory we want to see we will both lean forward and be transported into the memory itself. We will be observers only there, not able to affect any of what we see. Now, if you're ready, place your head directly over the bowl." Harry nodded and they both moved closer to the pensieve. For a moment nothing happened, but then Harry felt like he was caught in a whirlwind. The feeling was strangely similar to traveling by portkey, but when the journey was over Harry found himself standing in what appeared to be a court room. Professor Dumbledore was standing beside him, nudging him over to a spot in the room where they would have a better view. Harry smiled when he saw a younger version of Professor Dumbledore chatting with Alastor Moody, the real Alastor Moody that is.

"What is this, sir?" Harry asked as he watched the people hurriedly making their way to their seats.

"This is a memory from shortly after Voldemort's fall. Igor Karkaroff was sentenced to Azkaban for his crimes as a Death Eater. This is a hearing he requested so that he might name fellow Death Eaters in order to gain his own freedom. The proceedings are about to begin, watch." And so Harry did. Karkaroff was brought into the room in a cage, the strange look on his face evidence of exposure to Dementors. He began desperately bartering for his release, although none of the names he suggested seemed to matter to Barty Crouch Sr who was running the hearing. Harry was a little surprised when Karkaroff named Severus Snape as a Death Eater, they had seemed somewhat friendly to each other when he had witnessed them talking at the Yule Ball. Maybe Snape didn't know Karkaroff tried to betray him. Either way Karkaroff's attempt failed when the past version of Professor Dumbledore stood up and argued in Snape's favor that he had turned on Voldemort and become a spy for him before the end of the war. It looked like Karkaroff was going to be sent back to Azkaban when he declared that he had one more name.

"Barty Crouch... JUNIOR!" the Death Eater said dramaticly. The court room was suddenly full of excited chatter and Barty Crouch Sr looked as if he had been kicked in the stomach. The crowd in one corner seemed to jump to their feet and a moment later Harry spotted Barty Crouch Jr making his way down the aisle heading for the exit. His escape was thwarted by Mad Eye Moody who knocked him to the ground with a single spell. Crouch Sr was left with no choice but to have his son arrested and sent to Azkaban. It was here that the memory ended and Harry found himself back in Professor Dumbledore's office.

"Well now, what did you think?" Professor Dumbledore asked. Harry still had a thoughtful look on his face, as if he were still considering what he had just seen.

"I guess I see why Crouch was so upset at Karkaroff, and why Karkaroff might want to run." Harry answered. Truthfully, the memory told him very little he didn't already know or suspect but it did confirm some things. "Do you think anyone will find him?"

"Perhaps. Professor Snape was correct: at the moment it is doubtful that anyone who wishes him harm will be looking for him. He should be fine for the foreseeable future." Dumbledore replied calmly as Harry wondered just how long that would be. Unforeseen events had a way of happening pretty consistently. "Now, I would like to see your memory of the fight with Barty Crouch Jr, if that is acceptable. Take your wand and concentrate on pulling the memory out of your head. Then simply place it in the pensieve."

Harry did as the Professor instructed and was surprised to see a silver strand hanging from the end of his wand. Seeing this individual memory Harry realized that Dumbledore's pensieve must contain hundreds of memories. Harry carefully placed the memory into the pensieve and looked up at the Headmaster who smiled and nodded in approval. Soon they were both hunched over the magical device and being sent into Harry's memory.

Harry watched his past self unsuccessfully attempt to talk his way out of the confrontation, all the while silently critiquing his actions. Professor Dumbledore watched the memory much more intently than he had the last one, which Harry thought was normal considering this was his memory and therefore this was the first time Dumbledore had seen it. Harry wasn't particularly happy with his performance in the duel. He had panicked a bit and fallen back on using familiar, less effective spells as a result. Crouch had clearly underestimated him, a fact that may have been the deciding factor in their duel. Next time they faced off Crouch would not underestimate him again, so Harry knew he would have to be prepared. Dumbledore did not seem to share his disappointment, in fact he looked positively delighted when they got to the part where Harry transfigured a chair into a wolf and commanded it to attack Crouch. Neither of them were particularly happy when they saw Crouch cast the Cruciatus curse on him. Soon it was over and Professor Flitwick was rushing into the room to confront the impostor. Upon seeing it again Harry was even more impressed with his Charms professor than he had been before, his speed and technique were truly amazing. The memory continued on until Harry, Moody, and Flitwick reached the infirmary and met Professor Dumbledore. Once done the two spectators were once again sent back to the office.

Upon returning Dumbledore sat down in the chair behind his desk and motioned for Harry to take a seat as well. Harry nodded and sat across the desk from the Professor, waiting for him to voice his thoughts on what he had seen.

"Harry, it is clear that you are unhappy with how you handled yourself in the duel with Barty Crouch Jr. You need not be, you did very well. I am more sure of that now having witnessed the fight than I was when you described it earlier. Your use of transfiguration in a duel was very impressive, a trick that I might have used in your position in fact."

"Thanks, Professor." Harry replied. "I just feel like I could have done better, that's all."

"There is no doubt in my mind that you will continue to improve yourself, Harry. You have developed a surprising drive to do that this year, perhaps a positive outcome from your unfortunate participation in the Triwizard Tournament. If you ever need my help the door will be open for you." Dumbledore said to reassure him. Harry nodded and offered a small smile in response. "There is however, one more issue I wished to discuss with you this evening." Harry looked up sharply at this, from the sound of Dumbledore's voice it was not going to be something that would make him happy.

"What is it, sir?" Harry asked.

"The Minister of Magic has reacted as we expected to the news that Barty Crouch Jr is alive and free, which is to say quite poorly. Word is starting to trickle out about the event, despite Fudge's best efforts to prevent it. Minister Fudge has decided to increase security in what he has deemed high risk locations." Dumbledore answered.

"So what exactly does that mean?"

"He has no authority over Hogwarts, so no changes will be seen here. More Aurors will patrol Diagon Alley and a much smaller contingent will be placed in Hogsmeade. It is the patrol around Hogsmeade that I wished to warn you about, however."

"It's Dementors, isn't it?" Harry asked. "Fudge is sending Dementors to Hogsmeade."

"Correct, Harry." Dumbledore answered with a hint of frustration in his voice. "They will not be in the town itself, but stationed on the outskirts. I advise you to stay away from them if at all possible. The Ministry's control over those vile creatures is not at all assured. A change is coming, the animals in the forest can sense it on instinct. I believe the Dementors know it as well."

"Is Hogsmeade safe, sir?" Harry asked, still in shock that Fudge would endanger students with Dementors again.

"Most likely, although I would ask you not to stray from the village itself. I know you can cast a Patronus, but do not go looking for trouble."

"I understand." Harry said with a nod.

"Good. In that case I shall bid you good night Harry. Thank you for allowing me to view your memory, it was quite enlightening." Harry nodded and left the office headed for the Gryffindor dorms. He considered the danger that he could be facing in Hogsmeade the next day, but quickly realized that he would be less at risk than anyone else, especially since he would be with Daphne who could also cast the Patronus charm successfully. Harry frowned, realizing that he had not thought to teach the spell to Hermione and that there would not be time to do it before tomorrow. She, like the rest of the students, would just have to stay close to the village.

In the back of Harry's mind he was beginning to get the feeling of impending danger again. It was a strange sense of worry that seemed to always be there, but became more intense when he was going to be put in a life threatening situation. Perhaps that little feeling was the full extent of his abilities as a seer, but it was nice to have. It was awakening now, telling him to be careful. Though with Dementors on the loose, he already had that part figured out.

* * *

Harry met Daphne at the large entrance doors to Hogwarts shortly after 11 AM. The town had been open for a few hours before that but both of them agreed that the idea of sleeping in sounded more appealing. They did not appear to be the only ones leaving late, apparently the idea of getting out of bed to walk around outside was not popular on this cold February morning.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Harry asked as he walked up to meet Daphne.

"Sure, there is another carriage leaving in a few minutes. Let's go." she answered and they headed towards a waiting carriage. Harry reached out and took Daphne's hand and was rewarded with a smile in response. The carriage ride was fairly short due to the closeness of the village to the castle, but Harry still enjoyed the time he had to sit in peaceful quiet with Daphne and watch as the familiar scenery rolled by. Soon the journey was over and they had arrived at Hogsmeade. On weekends when the students were allowed to visit it almost seemed like there were more students there than residents, and that was the case today. Although the crowds had not yet reached their full size a large number of students could be seen happily walking from shop to shop and enjoying the day.

Dumbledore's warning had caused Harry to be more alert than he might otherwise be. He had not seen any Dementors on the way over and assumed that they were being kept away from the well used roads and paths. That was a small comfort to him, perhaps if he were lucky he could avoid them completely. He hoped for desperately for that because he hated the way the creatures made him feel.

"Harry, look. Aurors." Daphne said, interrupting his thoughts. Daphne was pointing to a pair of people in blue Auror's robes. One was a large and intimidating black man who seemed to radiate a feeling of strength and experience. His partner was a younger girl, clearly in her early twenties, with wild pink hair and a large grin on her face. She seemed to be joking with the other Auror, although he wasn't laughing like she was. Harry had told Daphne all about his conversation with Dumbledore and she had merely frowned at the news that Hogsmeade would be host to Aurors and Dementors. She had worked regularly on her Patronus charm since Harry taught it to her and now felt confident in her ability to use it, however that ability had never been tested against an actual Dementor. Harry had toyed with the idea of bringing in a boggart for her to practice against but quickly realized that the plan had several problems with it. First, he had no idea where he would find one. And more importantly, Harry had a strong suspicion that the next time he faced a boggart it would not turn into a Dementor. His fear of them had greatly lessoned after his encounter at the end of third year and he was in no hurry to see what would replace them as his top fear.

"I wonder how many of them are here." Harry replied. So far those two were the only ones that were visible, although he suspected that there were more waiting in less obvious places. "How about Honeyduke's first?" he asked, bringing her attention back to more entertaining topics.

"Now that you mention it, I could use some more sugar quills." Daphne agreed and they began walking towards the candy shop. For the next hour they visited the various shops in the small village, sometimes making purchases but more often just browsing. They both felt that they had spent too much time in the castle and were enjoying the chance to do something different. They were in Zonko's Joke Shop when Harry noticed someone sneaking up behind them. Harry spun around with his wand ready, only to find Fred and George Weasley laughing at his reaction.

"Careful there, Fred!" the twin that must have been George said. "Dark Lord Potter almost blasted your head off."

"Too true, my handsome brother. And a lovely head it is." Fred agreed. Harry had lowered his wand and was now looking at the twins in amusement.

"Hey guys." Harry said.

"A good afternoon to you." Fred replied.

"And to you, our dear Dark Lady." George added, after which both twins bowed theatrically.

"It's good to see someone showing me proper respect." Daphne said. "I suppose I might forgive you for sneaking up on us. Just this once."

"How gracious of you!" Fred answered excitedly. "Now Harry, you aren't seriously considering buying something from this pathetic establishment are you?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Harry asked. "I thought you two loved this place." The twins shared a glance between themselves and then leaned forward, as if to tell Harry and Daphne a secret.

"We're going to put this place out of business one day." George claimed with a large smile on his face. "Take one of these. We call it a Canary Cream. Normally I'd charge you seven sickles, but you get the Dark Lord discount for today." George handed him a small candy that looked like a custard cream.

"What does it do?" Harry asked suspiciously, holding the candy up to his face for a better look.

"Nothing dangerous, we promise." Fred answered. "Just use it wisely, and come see us if you want some more." With that the twins moved on and started talking to another one of Zonko's customers. Harry laughed when he realized they were attempting to advertise their line of joke products in their competitor's own store. 'Not a bad way to raise interest.' he finally decided.

"Are you hungry?" Harry asked Daphne as they left the joke shop. "I was thinking we could eat lunch at the Three Broomsticks."

"Oh, and I had my hopes set on Madam Puddifoot's." Daphne replied. Harry looked at her in surprise, not expecting Daphne to want to go to the tea shop he had heard described as 'feminine' at the nicest and 'a version of hell on earth for every male' at the worst.

"Uh, well ok. If that's what you want to do." Harry answered. Daphne responded by starting to laugh as if she had never heard anything funnier.

"No Harry, I don't really want to go. But it's nice that you would follow me into that hellhole if I wanted to go." Harry stared at her for a moment before beginning to chuckle as well, partly from relief that he didn't have to go to Madam Puddifoot's. "The Three Broomsticks will be great." When they made it to the pub they saw that most, but not all, of the tables were already taken. Harry was able to find one close the bar and they sat down and waited for Madam Rosmerta to come take their orders. Harry and Daphne were enjoying the good food and company when their happiness was interrupted.

"So Potter, taking your tramp out for an evening on the town are you?" the always annoying voice of Draco Malfoy asked. Harry and Daphne turned to see him and Pansy Parkinson approaching their table. Draco stood on one side of the table between Harry and Daphne while Pansy stood at the opposite side.

"Why don't you just leave, Malfoy. I'd prefer not to have to curse you in front of so many witnesses." Harry replied, upset that his date had been disturbed.

"Really? I didn't think you even paid attention to rules or laws, is it just to see how many you've broken? Only an idiot would believe that you have it in you to be a dark lord, but you are a liar and cheat. I'm just glad the rest of the world seems to be coming to their senses." Malfoy responded bitterly.

"Sod off, Draco." Daphne said, breaking in to the conversation. "Besides, we both know you aren't going to do anything here. Tuck your tail between your legs and go home." Malfoy sneered at her, but inwardly was starting to get desperate. His plan called for him to get Harry angry enough to start throwing spells, but so far nothing he said was having the effect he wanted it to.

"Perhaps I won't hex Potter." Malfoy said, still trying to find a way to anger his nemesis. "I'll just take this then, hope you weren't saving it." Malfoy reached towards the table and grabbed the Canary Cream that Harry had set by his plate. A small grin came over Harry's face, wondering if he could get Malfoy to eat it.

"Give it back!" Harry demanded, knowing that the more he seemed to want it the less likely Malfoy was to give it back. Malfoy smirked, thinking he was finally starting to get under Harry's skin.

"I don't think I will." Malfoy said as he unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth. As soon as he swallowed the candy his eyes bulged and he knew something was terribly wrong. Feathers began sprouting up out of his skin and his nose began growing into the shape of a beak. He tried to yell out but his voice had been replaced by a strange squawking sound. Everyone in the pub turned and started laughing as he slowly turned into a giant canary. In the distraction, Pansy Parkinson saw her chance and removed a small vial from her robes. She placed a few drops of the red liquid it contained into both Harry and Daphne's drinks before hiding the vial. She smiled evilly, the distraction may not have happened as planned but this part still worked. She had completed her task and no one seemed to notice, their attentions were still focused on Malfoy.

The canary effect lasted for a little more than a minute, and when it had finished Malfoy's features had returned to normal and the feathers covering his body had fallen off. The pub's patrons were still laughing hysterically at what they had seen and Malfoy's face grew red in embarrassment and anger.

"This isn't over, Potter. Don't think for a second it is!" Malfoy yelled and turned to leave the pub with Pansy following close behind him.

"Oh Harry, that was priceless! Why couldn't I have brought a camera with me?" Daphne said between laughs. Harry was still trying to control his laughter when he reached for his Butterbeer and took a drink. As the cool liquid went down his throat he felt his mood change and his laughter abruptly died. His amusement was replaced by a strange sense of unspecific anger. Daphne noticed his change in attitude and looked at him curiously.

"Harry? You ok over there?" she asked.

"Of course I'm ok. What the bloody hell do you think?" he snapped back at her angrily. A small voice in his mind was softly asking him what he was so mad about, but it was hard to focus on with so much anger running through his head.

"What's gotten in to you?" Daphne replied, getting a bit upset herself. "One minute you were laughing and the next you're a pissed off jerk."

"I'm a jerk, am I? Well maybe Malfoy was right about you, Greengrass." Harry answered, though the voice inside him questioning his attitude seemed to be getting louder. Daphne looked ready to hex him when her faced dropped into an expression of concentration.

"Harry, give me your drink." she commanded.

"Get your own!" he said back, raising his voice even higher. Daphne reached over and took his Butterbeer anyway. She carefully raised the glass to her nose and smelled it, scowling as she set it down. She then picked up her own drink and repeated the process, a strange smell not normally found in Butterbeer was coming from both of them.

"Potter! Get a hold of yourself and settle down." Daphne said forcefully, demanding he comply. "Somehow Malfoy managed to put something in our drinks. From the way you are reacting I would guess it is the Draught of Rage. It makes you angry and prone to violence for about ten minutes. You can fight off the Imperious Curse, you can fight off this!"

Harry wanted to yell at her for telling him to settle down, but the voice in the back of his head was growing louder and agreeing with her assessment. He knew there was no real reason for him to be mad at Daphne. Malfoy though, he was the one that deserved his anger.

"Why? What was he trying to do?" Harry asked, still trying to quell the anger he could still feel boiling beneath the surface.

"He put some in my drink, too. If we had both gotten it in our systems we would probably be cursing each other by now, and then we would be in real trouble. Plans like this have worked before. Remember from History of Magic? Some dark lord snuck the Draught of Rage into his enemy's food supply and just let them kill each other. This could have been very dangerous, Harry." Daphne explained. Harry simply nodded, most of his concentration was still focused on removing the foreign thoughts and feelings from his mind. Slowly, he could feel the anger towards Daphne ebbing away. His anger towards Malfoy, however, was still present.

"Come on." Harry said, rising to his feet. "Let's go find Malfoy." Harry was walking towards the door before Daphne could even begin to protest. Once outside the pub Harry began to look around hoping to spot Malfoy.

"Harry, you're still feeling the effects of the potion." Daphne said as she caught up with him. "Let's go back inside and wait for it to wear off. If you still want to find Draco then I will help you."

"There!" Harry said, pointing towards a tree towards the outskirts of the village. Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle were all sitting by the tree watching the Three Broomsticks. Apparently they had been expecting Harry and Daphne to provide entertainment in their potion induced rage. Harry began running towards them with Daphne following close behind. Harry was still quite angry, but he could feel the effects of the potion influencing him less and less with every passing moment. Malfoy and company saw him coming and seemingly thought it would be funny to have him chase them because they had gotten up and started running away from Harry and Daphne.

"Harry, stop!" Daphne yelled. The urgency in her voice caused Harry to drop his pursuit and turn to face her. "There are Dementors that way!" Harry frowned and appeared to think about what she had said. Casting a quick glance towards where Malfoy and his friends had run to Harry closed his eyes and attempted to calm himself. Finally he was certain that the effects of the potion had worn off.

"Then we have to go." Harry answered reluctantly. "None of them can cast a Patronus, we can. As much as I'd like to curse him, I can't just let Malfoy die. Not even he deserves that."

"I've never cast a Patronus against a Dementor. I'm not sure I can." Daphne said softly, the worry clear in her voice. Harry responded by walking over to her and bringing her in to a tight hug. After a few moments, Daphne lifted her arms and returned the hug. She tried her best to ignore her worries and concentrate on the comfort Harry was providing.

"You can do it, Daphne. I know you can." he assured her. She opened her mouth to respond but was stopped when Harry leaned forward and kissed her. The kiss was brief, but somehow Daphne thought it was exactly what she needed. "Let's go." Daphne nodded and together they began running towards where they had last seen the others. Harry worried that he had lost them, a fear that only increased as he felt a cold chill travel down his spine. The Dementors were nearby. He looked towards Daphne to see that her eyes were wide open with a look of shock on them, she could obviously feel the Dementors as well.

As they came over a snowy hill Harry gasped when he saw that the Dementors had Malfoy and his friends surrounded. The four Slytherins were casting a variety of curses at the deadly creatures, but none of them worked. There were six Dementors in total, and at the moment they seemed to be toying with the children. Perhaps they were already enjoying the fear that they were provoking. Even from this distance the Dementors were able to affect Harry strong enough that he could faintly hear his mother's cries for mercy at the hands of Voldemort. 'No!' his mind screamed at him. 'I will not be afraid.' Harry gave Daphne's hand a squeeze in encouragement and they headed towards the group. As they prepared to cast their Patronuses Malfoy and Parkinson decided to run, leaving Crabbe and Goyle behind. Three of the Dementors followed the two students as Harry realized that he and Daphne were both going to have to successfully cast the charm if they were going to be able to save their classmates.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry and Daphne yelled out simultaneously. Immediately a fully formed stag leapt from Harry's wand and began charging towards the Dementor's surrounding Malfoy and Parkinson. Daphne's fox Patronus took a few seconds longer to form, but eventually did and sped off towards Crabbe and Goyle. Harry began to focus on pouring as much of his magic into the spell as he could, and was surprised to see that his stag was getting larger and larger. He worried that the Patronus would become unstable and forced himself to concentrate on happy thoughts and emotions. In the moment before his stag reached its target Harry glanced over to check on Daphne.

Daphne was fully focused on her spell and had a large, triumphant smile plastered on her face after seeing that she had been able to cast the charm correctly. As her ghost-like fox leaped towards the Dementors she began shouting out, encouraging her Patronus to attack the vile creatures. Seeing her reaction, Harry felt a surge of pride and affection for her. He suddenly realized how lucky he was to have her in his life.

When he turned back only moments later to check on his stag Patronus he saw that it had oddly shrank back to its normal size, but that was not the most striking change. Somehow, the stag appeared more solid and lifelike. When it attacked the Dementors Harry thought he heard them howl in pain and surprise before they began to retreat. The stag briefly stood guard over Malfoy and Parkinson but when it was clear that the Dementors were running away it headed towards Crabbe and Goyle. Daphne's fox had managed to prevent the Dementor's from getting close to Crabbe and Goyle, but was not able to chase them away like Harry's stag had been. As the stag charged towards the group two of the Dementors fled like the others, but one seemed to have been caught by surprise and turned to find itself impaled on the Patronus's antlers. Once again the strange howl of pain and shock filled the clearing as the Dementor attempted to escape. But this time, the creature was caught on the antlers and unable to free itself. The howls continued for a few moments before all noise stopped and the Dementor dropped to the ground completely still. The black fog that seemed to surround the beast began to dissipate along with the feelings of fear the Dementors were capable of producing.

"Is it dead?" Daphne asked in disbelief. She had never heard of anyone being able to hurt a Dementor, let alone kill one.

"I'm not sure, but I think it is." Harry answered. He then held his wand in the air and said "Periculum!", which caused red sparks to shoot in to the air from the tip of his wand. Harry hoped that a professor or the Aurors would see the sparks and come help them. Harry and Daphne first walked towards Malfoy and Parkinson, who were both sitting on the ground huddled together. Harry reached into his pocket and took out some chocolate he had bought at Honeyduke's earlier in the day.

"Here, eat this. It's just chocolate, but it helps." Harry explained as he gave a piece to each of them. They took the candy gratefully and began eating it as the feeling of dread seemed to loosen its grip on them.

"Potter. You saved my life." Malfoy said. It was phrased as a statement of fact, one that he seemed to be surprised by. And it was true, he would have received the Dementor's kiss if Harry and Daphne had not intervened.

"I guess I did." Harry answered with a shrug. He wondered if this would change things between them, but doubted it would. Malfoy had invested a lot in this childish rivalry and was unlikely to just let it go. He was a lot like his head of house Professor Snape in that respect. Harry and Daphne turned and walked to where Crabbe and Goyle were laying on the ground in the fetal position. They both appeared to be crying. Malfoy and Parkinson had gotten up and followed them over. They said nothing about their friends reaction to the Dementors because they knew exactly what it was like. After convincing the two scared boys to eat the chocolate Harry walked over to where the dead Dementor had fallen. Daphne and Malfoy followed, and for a few moments they simply looked at the defeated beast with similar looks of confusion.

"What's going on here?" a feminine voice with a Scottish accent asked loudly. Harry looked up and saw Professor McGonagall jogging towards them with her wand out. The two Aurors he had seen earlier in the day were trailing close behind her. "Has someone been injured?" Harry and Daphne walked towards the group of adults so that they could answer their questions.

"We're ok, Professor. They were attacked by Dementors." Harry answered, pointing towards Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle. "Daphne and I saw them heading into the forest and went after them. We were able to drive the Dementors off with Patronus charms."

"Ms Greengrass, I wasn't aware you could perform that spell." Professor McGonagall stated, her curiosity clearly evident.

"Yes, Professor. Harry taught me how." Daphne said proudly.

"Kingsley! You need to see this!" Harry turned and saw that the pink haired Auror had found the fallen Dementor. Everyone took that as a cue to gather around the creature. "It's dead, sir."

"Dead? Are you certain? I did not think that was possible." the other Auror, apparently named Kingsley, answered. "Who did this?"

"I did sir." Harry answered. "I wasn't really trying to kill it, it just sort of happened." The two Aurors and Professor McGonagall looked at him in shock, wondering how he was capable of such an unprecedented feat.

"We must discuss this with Professor Dumbledore." McGonagall said to the two Aurors who nodded in agreement. "If it is possible to destroy the Dementors the Order must learn how." The adults seemed to have forgotten that the students were still there, although Harry wasn't exactly sure what his professor was talking about.

"Professor?" Harry interrupted. "I gave them some chocolate, but I think they are still feeling bad from the Dementors."

"Of course. Why don't all of you head back to the castle. Harry, we will have to discuss this later." McGonagall answered.

"Am I in trouble?" Harry asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Absolutely not!" she replied. "Now, please escort them back. We will take care of this... mess." As she said the last part she cast a glance at the remains of the Dementor. Honestly she wasn't sure what to do other than contact Professor Dumbledore. It was at times like this when she was secretly glad she was not in charge. Harry nodded and took Daphne's hand. Together they began walking towards the village with Malfoy and his friends following close behind.

"You did great out there." Harry told Daphne as they neared the village.

"Thanks to you." she reminded him. "And I think you did a little better than I did." Harry shrugged, not sure what to think of the dead Dementor.

"I'm sorry our date fell apart like that." Harry said, hoping she wouldn't be too disappointed.

"What are you talking about? I had more fun today than I have had in ages! I just hope you can come up with something to top it for our third date." she answered with a grin as Harry sighed in relief. "Besides, the day isn't over. I am sure we can find some more trouble to get into."

"It's not going to be normal with you is it?" Harry asked playfully.

"Would you have it any other way?" she replied. Harry shook his head slightly. No, he liked her just the way she was.

Later, he knew, there would be questions. Lots of questions, all about what had happened today. But for now he was able to enjoy a quiet walk with a happy date and at the moment he found that much more important than anything else going on.

* * *

Author's Note:

Pretty big chapter here, though I am happy with the way it turned out. I'd love to hear what all of you thought, so please review.


	13. Chapter 13

After the events in Hogsmeade, Harry expected his professors and the Aurors to question him later that day. However the interrogation, as he thought of it, did not come when he expected. Instead he simply received a note asking him not to mention the dead Dementor except to his closest friends, a request that came directly from the Minstry of Magic The Ministry was worried what would happen if the knowledge that the guards of Azkaban were vulnerable became widely known. Harry laughed at the idea that they could keep that information a secret, too many people had seen the corpse of the Dementor for it to be kept quiet now. The foolish idea seemed to him like something Fudge would try. It really was useless, especially since Draco Malfoy was one of the witnesses. It was all but guaranteed that Lucius Malfoy already knew what had happened, and if there was anyone who didn't need to get that information it was him.

Harry did not have to wait long to see Fudge's plan fail. The next day the Daily Prophet published a detailed account of his encounter with the Dementors. The shocking part was that the article was fairly accurate in reporting what happened, although Rita Skeeter's speculation about its significence was skewed (as always) against him. Harry thought she might note that the four students he and Daphne had rescued were the children of Death Eaters but she left that part out, no doubt due to Lucius Malfoy's wealth and political power. Additionally, Skeeter had given him a new title: Lord of the Dementors. According to her, the Dementors had pledged their loyalty to him after seeing one of their own fall in battle.

What most interested Harry was the question of where Rita Skeeter was getting her information. Although most of the time she was just making up lies, on some occasions she knew things she should not have known unless she had been there. Harry suspected that she may have an invisibility cloak much like his and was using it to spy on people. Cloaks like that were good but he did have one advantage on them: the Marauder's Map. Harry knew he would have to consult the map from now on anytime he wanted to be sure he was alone. He wasn't sure what he would do if he did find Skeeter hiding on the school grounds. Although it was against the rules for her to come to Hogwarts uninvited she did not seem to be a threat in the way Barty Crouch Jr had been, so dueling her was probably out of the question. Besides, killing her would likely cement his reputation as a future dark lord.

Reactions to the article at Hogwarts seemed to be mostly overshadowed by the news that Durmstrang would be leaving after the second task, which would be held as scheduled the following weekend. Rumors abounded that the Durmstrang Headmaster had been kidnapped or murdered and his body thrown to the bottom of the lake. The professors were mostly unable to stop the rumors because even they did not know where Igor Karkaroff was. Even Professor Snape had no proof that the man had not been abducted or killed, he and most of his possessions had just vanished late Thursday evening. A sense of unease was growing amongst the residents of the castle as they all could tell something strange was going on, but none of them could determine what exactly it was.

* * *

The following day Harry was eating lunch and describing his encounter with the Dementors to Neville when Professor McGonagall walked up to the Gryffindor table to ask Harry to accompany her to the Transfiguration classroom for a meeting with the Headmaster.

"Sorry Neville, I guess I've got to go. I'll tell you the rest later." Harry said as he stood up from the table and popped the last part of his sandwich in his mouth.

"No big deal, Harry. Like you said the Prophet got most of right anyway." Neville answered with a shrug.

"Follow me, Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall commanded once Harry had gotten his things together. Harry gave Neville a wave good-bye and started walking with his head of house out of the Great Hall and towards the Transfiguration classroom. As they walked Harry wondered what they were expecting of him and hoped they wouldn't be too mad at him when he admitted that he wasn't quite sure how he had killed the Dementor. Once they reached the classroom Professor McGonagall motioned him inside before closing the door behind them. Waiting inside were Professor Flitwick, Professor Dumbledore, and to Harry's surprise Alastor Moody. He was looking much healthier now than when Harry had seen him last.

"Good to see you again Professor Moody." Harry said, smiling at the former Auror.

"You know I was never your Professor, Potter." Moody responded with a grin. "Although I will be, starting tomorrow."

"That's great news!" Harry answered excitedly. "I was getting a bit tired of having Snape teach Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts." Dumbledore chuckled at Harry's admission while Moody just nodded in agreement. Moody never really trusted Severus Snape, despite Dumbledore's assurances of the man's loyalty. He accepted that Snape had truly turned his back on Lord Voldemort, but a man who could turn on one master could easily turn on another.

"Harry, I have brought my pensieve with me in the hopes that you might allow us to view your memory from yesterday. Would that be acceptable?" Harry nodded and placed his wand on his forehead as he concentrated on the memory he wanted to share. As he slowly pulled the tip of his wand away from his head he was rewarded with the sight of a small silver strand, exactly what he had hoped to see. He placed the strand into the pensieve and waited for his professors to join him. All five people in the room placed their heads over the stone bowl and were instantly drawn into the memory.

Overall, Harry was much happier with his performance yesterday than he had been about his duel with Barty Crouch Jr. Once again he watched as his Patronus grew as he tried to put more power behind it. This time though he noticed that the larger than normal stag almost did break apart. As it grew parts of it bulged and strained as if it were on the verge of popping like some strange balloon. It was not until he looked at Daphne that the form solidified and shrank, becoming more dense in the process. His professors must have found that part particularly funny because when Harry looked at them to judge their reaction they were all either smiling or laughing softly, though Harry had no idea why they were reacting in that way. They all watched in fascination as the stag attacked the Dementor and instead of just driving it off was able to kill it. The memory ended just as he saw his past self send sparks into the air to signal for help.

"Well done, Harry." Professor Flitwick commented once they had exited the pensieve. "And I take it you were the one who taught Ms Greengrass the charm? Excellent!"

"I must say that I am perplexed as to how you were able to accomplish this." Professor Dumbledore admitted. "Many wizards, myself included, can increase the size of our Patronuses but doing so causes them to break apart. You were somehow able to keep yours intact, do you have any idea how that was done?"

"Yes, Professor. I think I figured it out, with Hermione's help that is." Harry explained. "I sort of figured out for myself that they way Professor Lupin taught me the charm wasn't the best way to do it. What memory you focus on isn't important, you have to make yourself feel a positive emotion. The spell works in two parts: your magic creates the mist that actually drives the Dementors away but your emotion contains and shapes the mist. Hermione compared the mist that the spell creates to a gas and the Patronus itself to the vessel that you put the gas into. If you try and force a lot of gas into a weak container then the container will break or leak, but she says that if you have a really strong container and you force a bunch of gas into it you can force the gas to change into a liquid. It didn't make sense to me, but she said she got the idea from muggle chemistry. She thinks that's what I did, except we were using magic and not gas."

"Interesting... I never would have thought to use muggle science to describe magic. Bright girl, Ms Granger, I still think she should have been a Ravenclaw." Professor Flitwick said with a small laugh. "Your method is a bit different from the accepted practice, although it clearly does seem to have an advantage."

"Do you think you could do it again?" Professor Moody asked.

"Maybe." Harry answered after thinking about it for a moment. "I wasn't even really sure what I was doing when it happened the first time."

"Please go ahead and try, Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall suggested.

"OK." Harry took a step away from the professors and began attempting to remember and feel the emotions he had been experiencing when he had cast his last Patronus. His thoughts drifted back to when he had seen Daphne proudly using the spell he had taught her and he focused on that memory. Her eyes had been wide open and he could see that there were still traces of fear in them. Her blonde hair was gently blowing in the cold wind and her mouth was set in a happy but determined grin. Harry thought then, like he had previously, that somehow she was more beautiful then than he had ever seen her. Even compared to what she had looked like at the Yule Ball. Feeling that the time was right, Harry shouted "Expecto Patronum!" and watched as his ghostly stag appeared. He continued pouring power into the spell, happy to see that the Patronus was not expanding nor did there appear to be any of the white mist leaking or dissipating.

Harry was surprised to realize that the spell was harder now than it had been the day before, even without the presence of the Dementors. There was no way for him to tell if the Patronus he was creating could kill a Dementor like the previous one had done, but it appeared to be more solid and lifelike than a normal Patronus would. Eventually he decided that he had made the Patronus as strong as he could and concentrated on holding the magic animal together. The stag quickly realized there was no danger in the room and began walking in large circles around the room, still hoping to protect its master. Professor Moody walked up to it and began inspecting the Patronus, his magical eye twitching the entire time.

"Good one, Potter." the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher commented. "Not as good as the one yesterday, but better than I have ever been able to create." Moody stuck ran his hand along the stag's back and a surprised look immediately came over him. "Odd. It feels... wet."

"Really Alastor?" Dumbledore asked before walking over and repeating Moody's actions. After coming to the same conclusion that Moody had the Headmaster turned towards Harry and said "Marvelous!" Harry nodded and ended the spell, sighing in relief as he did. It took all of his energy and concentration to keep it going for as long as he had and he felt exhausted afterwards. Harry took the opportunity to sit down as the others discussed the results of their 'test'.

"Filius, you are the charms expert. Can others be taught to do this?" Professor Dumbledore asked. "If so, it would be a powerful tool against Voldemort."

"It's difficult to say, Albus. I fear I could never do it, although if Harry's idea about how the charm works is correct we could all make out Patronuses stronger. I suspect you and Alastor could perform the spell successfully, but I lack the power it appears to require."

"As do I." Professor McGonagall added. Harry listened in silent shock. Two of his professors thought he was stronger than them? Professor Flitwick had told him that one day he would be stronger, but the Charms professor now seemed to think that day had already come.

"Very well. I suggest we continue research on the subject. It has been hundreds of years since the last confirmed killing of a Dementor and many had feared the secret had been lost forever, but I now believe that we have the answer in front of us. How surprising that it is such a small change to what we were already doing." Dumbledore noted. The other professors nodded and Harry got the feeling that the meeting was coming to an end. "Thank you again, Harry. Though you may not yet realize it, you have given us a powerful tool with which to fight back against the darkness. During the last war the Dementors sided with Voldemort and were a constant threat. In battle they could not be defeated, only contained, which meant many of us would have to focus on them and not the Death Eaters. That can now change; we might not even have to kill another Dementor. I suspect they will be more reluctant to become involved if they realize they are in danger."

"Oh. Well then you're welcome, I guess." Harry answered, not really sure what to say to the Headmaster. "If that's all I'll be going. There's less than a week left until the second task after all."

"Another trip to the lake then?" Dumbledore asked with a chuckle.

"I thought you weren't supposed to talk about the tasks with the champions." Harry reminded him, wondering if the Headmaster would let any information he didn't already know slip.

"And I am not. I am merely noting that you have chosen to prepare for the second task by swimming in the lake. A commendable choice, swimming after all is wonderful exercise." Harry frowned; Dumbledore wasn't going to give anything away. He wasn't too disappointed though, he was fairly confident that he had most of the challenge already figured out. The only part he was still unsure about was which of his possessions they would be taking.

"Sure it is." he agreed. "Professor, I know this might seem like an odd question but could you keep me updated on how the research with the Patronus charm is going? I sort of feel like it was mine, and now I am handing it off to someone else."

"Of course, Harry. Now I will let you return to your training for the tournament. You have done very well so far, I am eager to see how you respond to the next task."

"Thanks Professor Dumbledore." Harry said and walked out of the room. Dumbledore was still smiling as he left, but soon after his face changed to one of concentration. Harry was more powerful than he should have been at this point, even with his non-stop training over the past few months. There was another factor at play here, he knew, though he was uncertain what it could be. There were a few dark rituals that could produce similar effects, but only temporarily and not without unpleasant consequences that would have been easily recognizable. Harry Potter was turning out to be full of surprises.

* * *

For the first time since he had started exploring the lake, Harry felt free underwater. The gillyweed changed his body in such a way that he felt like he truly belonged there. It was similar to how he felt on a broom soaring through the air. His previous worries about not being able to move fast enough had been completely erased by his first experiment with gillyweed. Now he felt confident he could out swim many of the fish in the lake and avoid most of the aquatic threats he would face instead of having to fight them. Harry was enjoying a peaceful view of the underwater environment when a sharp pull on his robes got his attention.

He turned to see Daphne staring at him, looking quite angry. Hermione was not far behind and had an eqally enraged look on her face. They were both using the bubble head charm and were therefore not capable of keeping up with him. Harry belatedly realized he had been having so much fun swimming he had forgotten to make sure he stayed close by the others. He clasped his hands together in a pleading motion, hoping that Daphne would understand his apology. They had quickly found that communicating verbally underwater was not possible. She did understand what he was trying to do, but turned her head away letting him know she still wasn't happy with him. Harry scratched his chin, showing that he was thinking what to do next. He then acted as if an idea had suddenly occurred to him and dropped down to the lake floor. Once there he gathered up some of the more colorful plants and made an odd bouquet out of them. When he presented it to Daphne she took it and smiled and then hugged him dramatically. Hermione had been watching the entire scene and laughing the entire time, her anger now having faded away.

Harry spent the next half hour showing them around the lake, frequently stopping to point out things he thought were interesting including the ruins he had noticed on the first day and the remains of a shipwreck he had found a week later. He could tell Hermione was eager to stay longer and learn more about the lake but he knew the gillyweed would be wearing off soon and he should return to the surface. He eventually was able to convince them to follow and made it just as the effects of the transformation were beginning to wear off. Once they were out of the water Harry began casting drying and warming charms, much to the relief of Daphne and Hermione.

"So, what do you think?" Harry asked once everyone was comfortable.

"The gillyweed is definitely the better option." Hermione commented. "It offers superior mobility at the very least."

"You're right, but I can also see and hear much better underwater. And if it wears off early for some reason I always have the bubble head charm to fall back on."

"That settles the question on how you will stay under the lake for an hour, but you still need to a way to find what you are looking for." Daphne reminded him. "I found a spell that might be useful, but only if you know what it is you are looking for."

"Really?" Harry asked, excited that another part of his challenge might have an answer.

"Yeah. It's actually two spells, but they are pretty easy to learn and cast. The book I found it in said it was invented by a wizard who kept losing his wallet, and it is supposed to work on things less than a mile away. It wears off after a few weeks though. The first one is Celario, you use it to mark and name whatever it is you are going to be looking for. Here, let me show you." Daphne said as she walked over and picked up a rock. She waved her wand in a sharp slashing movement before tapping the rock and saying "Celario rock."

"Ok, so what now?" Harry asked, curious to see how the two spells worked together.

"Now you use the second spell. Reperio rock!" Once Daphne cast the spell a faint red line linked the tip of her wand and the spot on the rock she had tapped. Harry looked towards her and then to the rock with an disappointed look on his face.

"No big deal, Daphne. Maybe you just cast it wrong, we'll keep trying." Harry said as if he was trying to cheer her up.

"What are you talking about? It worked. Don't you see the red line?" Daphne asked.

"Red line?" Hermione said sounding quite confused. "What are you talking about? There's no red line."

"Of course!" Daphne exclaimed in realization. "Only the person who cast the spell can see it. That makes the spell even better, this way no one will be able to follow your path."

"Great. Now, can you show me that wand movement again?" Harry asked. For the next ten minutes she showed Harry and Hermione how to cast the spell. Harry was the first to master the spells, as he almost always was, but Hermione was not far behind. After a few tries they had both successfully cast the spell on a number of objects around them. Harry was surprised to see that instead of a red line like Daphne's his had been a bright yellow, almost golden, color. Hermione said that her line was purple.

"I didn't expect them to be different." Daphne said. "But I guess they all work."

"Now I just need to cast the spell on my most important possessions. I'm still not sure what they are going to take though." Harry said with a frustrated sigh.

"What do you have that is most important to you?" Hermione asked, trying to get him to think about it.

"My Firebolt, the invisibility cloak, the Marauder's Map, and my photo album. Those are the only really important things I own. I guess you could count my wand too, but I don't think they would take that from me."

"Maybe they aren't going to take objects." Daphne suggested. "I was thinking they might take a person who is important to you."

"They wouldn't do that, would they? I mean the clue makes it sound like if I can't find what I am looking for in an hour then it is gone forever. They wouldn't put someone in that kind of danger against their will." Harry answered.

"Oh yeah? Look what they've done to you." Daphne pointed out. Harry frowned but nodded in agreement.

"She's right, Harry. I don't think the people running the tournament really care if someone gets hurt." Hermione replied. "That or the clue could just be an exaggeration, maybe if it is a person at the bottom of the lake they will just bring them up after it is over. So I guess you should cast the charm on the person most important to you as well." Harry's eyes immediately darted towards Daphne and he blushed slightly. Daphne noticed and smiled back at him.

"Good idea." Harry said before walking over to Daphne and saying "Celario Daphne" while performing the wand movement. He then cast the second spell to see if it worked, which it did. He felt a bit uncomfortable with this semi-public admission of how much he cared about Daphne, after all they had not really discussed their feelings for each other, but was very relieved when Daphne wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"You're that important to me, too." she whispered as she hugged him, low enough that they both knew Hermione would not be able to hear. Hermione, however, didn't have to hear it to understand the feelings between the couple in front of her. She smiled, happy that Harry had found a little joy in his otherwise crazy life.

"I think you're ready, Harry." Daphne said as she broke the hug. "And with a week to spare this time."

"I must be getting good at this, huh?" Harry replied jokingly. "I wonder if the others are ready." Harry looked over at Hermione when he said this, knowing that she still frequently talked to Viktor Krum.

"Sorry Harry, but I can't say. I don't tell Viktor what you are doing and I won't tell you what he is doing. And since I help you, I don't help him." Hermione said, her voice making it clear that she would not be persuaded.

"I know, I shouldn't have even brought it up." Harry responded. "I guess he doesn't have Karkaroff around to help him anymore either."

"No, but Viktor says that Headmaster Karkaroff was always too busy to help him anyway. I doubt that it is going to make a difference in the tournament." Hermione added with a shrug. "I wouldn't worry much Harry, I don't think there is anything in that lake that will cause you any real trouble. Just make sure you beat the others."

Harry nodded, knowing that his lead in the tournament was not too big and that he needed to win this event. He had no doubt that the other champions had figured the clue out or been told what it was, the tournament seemed to be rigged to ensure that. Unlike in the last task he didn't have some rare talent that would give him an advantage. This would be a true test of skill and creativity. Harry found that he liked the idea of proving himself to be better than his older competitors. He had not been taken seriously in the tournament even after winning the first event and Harry was ready to change that. Using gillyweed he believed he could make it to from the shore to any point in the lake in less than twenty minutes, so assuming he had guessed correctly that he would be looking for one of his few cherished possessions or Daphne he knew that the task should be fairly easy.

All three of them went inside and separated at this point. Since it was Sunday they all had classes the next day to prepare for. Before he went to bed that night Harry remembered to cast the tracking charm on everything he owned that had any sentimental value to him at all, but through it all he had the strong suspicion that none of the items he was charming would be taken. It would be Daphne, he felt certain of that. And if that was indeed the case, there was no way he was going to let her sit at the bottom of the lake any longer than she had to.

The next week seemed to pass by in a blur to Harry. He had classes and homework and tests but he found he was only able to partially pay attention to them. His friends noticed his single minded concentration, but only Daphne was able to even come close to pulling him out of it. Hermione had never seen her friend this determined before, and she attributed it to his belief that Daphne might be in danger because of this task. She had come to realize that Harry was becoming a powerful wizard, enough so that she almost felt sorry for anyone who would threaten the people he cared about. Their training had been temporarily suspended while he explored the lake in preparation for the tournament, but Hermione knew that he had not been relaxing over the last few weeks. She suspected that he had been pushing himself harder than ever away from her and Daphne's watchful eyes.

Hermione's suspicion was correct. Harry had returned to his old practice of pushing himself to the brink of exhaustion before finally quitting. Afterwards his body felt like it was on the verge of falling apart, but by the next day his aches and pains had faded and he was ready to do it again. He knew Daphne would worry about what it was doing to him if she knew, but he believed it was helping to make him stronger. And he was willing to make her mad if it meant he could keep her safe. He would stop after the next task, he told himself, and then he and Daphne would figure out just what he was doing differently than everyone else. That or they would figure out how he was different from everyone else, an option that Harry suspected was more likely. By the end of the week spent using his intense training method Harry felt that he had increased his magical power more in those few short days than he had in the months spent using normal training methods. Maybe it was dangerous, but the results spoke for themselves. And because of it, Harry felt ready for the second task. As he lay in bed the night before attempting to sleep, Harry swore that he would shatter the low expectations he knew people had for him.

* * *

Author's Note:

Next chapter is the second task. Harry is already much better prepared for it than he was in the books, how do you think he'll do?

Several of you have suggested that Harry and company become Animaguses, but at the moment that isn't in the plans. It just feels so overly done to me. I would much rather come up with new wizarding talents for them to have, such as Flitwick's Curromagus ability. Besides, every time I think about it I have the strong urge to make Harry's Animagus form be ManBearPig. While funny, I don't think that would fit.


	14. Chapter 14

When Harry woke up the next morning he was surprised he had slept so well. He had been much more nervous before the first task, which he admitted might make a lot of sense considering nothing in the lake was as dangerous as a nesting dragon trying to protect her eggs. The next task was scheduled to take place at 1:00 PM, so he still had several hours to prepare. The first thing he did was open his trunk and check on his belongings. As he suspected it would be, everything was as he left it the night before. That meant that either no one had come to take something from him yet or that what was going to be taken from him was not an item but a person.

"Reperio Daphne." Harry said, eager to make sure the spell still worked. He had recast it the previous day because he was worried it might wear off. The locating spell was still functioning perfectly, he found, and the bright yellow line coming from his wand was currently pointing towards another part of the castle. Harry suspected it was aimed at the dungeons the Slytherin dorms were located in but could not be certain of that. He ended the spell and decided to start getting ready for the rest of his day. That was when he noticed a small package lying on his dresser. Curious about what it was he tore away the brown paper covering it and found that someone had sent him red and gold, the Gryffindor colors, swimming trunks with a matching shirt that said "POTTER" on the back in large letters. The clothes appeared to be the right size for him and when he picked them up was surprised to feel that they were quite warm. A note was lying at the bottom of the package and Harry picked it up to see who the gift was from.

_Harry,_

_I thought that given your newfound love for swimming you might enjoy some new swim wear. They are enchanted to keep you warm and dry off instantly. I am sure you will find an opportunity to use them soon._

_- Professor Albus Dumbledore_

Harry smiled and muttered a silent 'thank you' to Professor Dumbledore. He put them on and found that they did indeed fit perfectly. Harry put his school robes on over his swimming clothes and decided to walk down to the Great Hall and see what was for breakfast. When he got there he immediately saw that the Great Hall was full as if it were a normal school day. He guessed that most people wanted to be up early enough to get good seats for the second event, although he wondered how exciting it was going to be for them to stare at the surface of a lake for an hour. When the other students noticed him walking in every eye turned to look at him and most of the conversations stopped. Harry was used to this kind of reactions so he grinned and shook his head. That was when he heard someone shout "Go Harry!" and some people started clapping for him. Maybe a quarter of the student population seemed to be supporting him, even a few Hufflepuff's were clapping despite the fact that Cedric Diggory was from their house. Harry smiled and waved to everyone for a moment, still a little shocked by what was happening.

'Maybe there is hope for these people after all.' Harry thought as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. He glanced over to the Slytherin table and noticed that Daphne wasn't there. His certainty that he would have to find her at the bottom of the lake increased as he felt anger towards those responsible for the tournament. He never wanted to be in it and he especially never wanted to endanger anyone he cared about. Sighing, he decided that there was nothing he could do about it at the moment and he might as well eat breakfast. He found Neville eating alone and decided to sit with him. They both said a quick hello and then got back to their meals. Harry had heard that it was a bad idea to eat a big meal before swimming, but decided he still had enough time for it to settle and not cause any problems so he ate until he was content.

"Hey Neville, have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked while taking another look down the table to see if she had sat down without him noticing. Most of Gryffindor seemed to be there but his friend was strangely absent.

"No. I haven't seen her all morning, actually." Neville answered. Harry nodded and wondered what she could be up to.

"Lavender!" Harry shouted, trying to get the attention of Hermione's roommate.

"What?" the girl shouted back from the other end of the table. She had been in the middle of a conversation and wasn't happy about being interrupted.

"Do you know where Hermione is?"

"Professor McGonagall came and got her this morning. She didn't say what for." Lavender answered and then turned back to the conversation she was having with Parvati Patil. Harry frowned as he thought about this new piece of information. Then he was struck by the realization that Hermione had been Viktor Krum's date to the Yule Ball. He jumped out of his seat and started looking up and down the Ravenclaw table. Cho Chang was missing as well. He did however see Roger Davies who had been Fleur Delacour's date at the Yule Ball, so that seemed to disprove his idea that the tournament officials had simply taken the people who had gone to the Ball with the champions. Perhaps there was someone else more important to her. In any event there was now no doubt at all that he would be looking for Daphne in the second task.

"Reperio Daphne." Harry said, casting the locating charm. Neville looked at him oddly because from his point of view the spell didn't seem to do anything at all. Harry however saw a golden light extend from his wand out of the Great Hall in the general direction of the lake. He frowned, guessing that meant she and Hermione were both already hidden in the lake. When he cancelled the charm Neville was still staring at him, waiting for him to explain.

"Daphne and Hermione are both at the bottom of the lake. I've got to get Daphne, and Krum has to get Hermione." Harry said.

"Oh. Do you think they are safe down there?"

"Yes, for now at least. But I don't know what's going to happen if we can't get to them in the hour we're going to be given. I'm not going to let either of them get hurt." Harry replied confidently. "I guess I might have to break the rules, but it will be worth it." Neville nodded in agreement and sat back in his chair, thinking about the situation.

"You don't really suppose the professors would let anything hurt them, do you?" Neville asked.

"I'm not sure the professors are in charge of this tournament. It's being run by a branch of the Ministry of Magic, and I don't trust them."

"No reason to, is there?" Neville agreed. "I'm sure you'll do great Harry. I'll be there cheering for you."

"Thanks. I'll see you there ok?" Harry said as he gathered his belongings and left the table. His exit drew far less attention than his entrance, but he did still notice a few people giving him thumbs up or softly booing him depending on their opinion of him. He shrugged off the negative reactions and tried to forget them. There was no way he was ever going to be liked by everyone in the school and he had long ago stopped trying.

As he walked out the door he saw Draco Malfoy with Crabbe and Goyle following close behind him turn the corner on their way to the Great Hall. Harry had not spoken to any of them since the previous weekend, although the thought of having a long and intelligent conversation with either of Malfoy's lackeys almost made him laugh. Harry slowed down as the approached each other, wondering what Malfoy would do.

"Potter." Malfoy said the name with a hint of disgust in his voice, as always. They had all stopped and were now staring each other down in the middle of the hallway. A few people had noticed and were watching, wondering if there was going to be a duel.

"Malfoy." Harry responded. Malfoy stood still and stared at the person who had been his nemesis practically since they met almost four years ago. Then, after a small shake of his head and a frustrated grunt, Malfoy motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him past Harry and in to the Great Hall. Harry watched him go feeling slightly confused. He had expected Malfoy to insult him or at least claim he was going to fail miserably in the second task today but instead he had done nothing. It was quite clear that the Slytherin still harbored an intense dislike for him but at least he was being civil about it. He wondered if the improvement was going to be permanent or just temporary until the fact that Harry had saved his life became a distant memory. He shrugged and decided to wait and see what would happen. At the moment he had far more important things to worry about.

* * *

A few hours later Harry was finally making his way to the staging area for the second task. Neville was walking beside him and wishing him luck, but Harry wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. All of his attention was focused on getting into the lake and finding Daphne and Hermione. For at least the twentieth time, Harry reached into his pockets to make sure that his gillyweed was there. He had enough left to last for two hours, far more than would be necessary. He had decided to take a smaller portion when he dived in so that he could have some left just in case. His biggest worry was that there would be some unexpected rule or requirement that he had not planned for.

Once they reached the lake shore a boat was waiting to take them to a large viewing platform that had been erected in the middle of the lake. Harry had seen the tournament crew working on it over the past week and had taken it as further proof that interpretation of the clue from the golden egg was correct. He was actually quite happy with the platform because it meant that his starting point would be in the middle of the lake and not on the shoreline. That meant he could easily reach any point in the lake in less than ten minutes, assuming he didn't have any major obstacles to overcome. As it was Harry felt confident in his abilities to handle anything the lake had in it.

As their boat reached the viewing platform Harry saw the other champions had already arrived and were standing in a section that had been roped off to prevent anyone else from entering. Once again Ludo Bagman was there and seemed to be in charge. Bagman spotted him walking towards the group and began waving him over.

"Harry! Wonderful, you're finally here." Bagman said. Harry gave him a fake smile and took the chance to look at his competition. The first and most obvious thing he noticed was that Fleur Delacour looked upset and very nervous. Apparently she had noticed that whoever they took from her was gone and was not at all happy about it. Cedric Diggory just looked confused as if he had no idea what was going on, Harry guess that he had not heard that Cho was missing. Krum, as always, looked like he couldn't care less what was going on around him.

"Yes sir." Harry answered. "Are we ready to start yet?"

"Almost. Now that you're all here I can explain the rules. This morning something was taken from each of you, something important."

"Where is Gabrielle?" Fleur demanded to know. "If you have hurt her I will ruin you!" Bagman looked uncomfortable with her threats but had no choice but to answer her.

"Well, since Ms Delacour has given the surprise away I suppose it won't hurt to let you all know that a person important to you has been placed at the bottom of the lake. You will have one hour to find them."

"And what happens after the hour is over?" Harry asked, hoping that his fears would be put to rest.

"Let's not worry about that right now, shall we? I'm sure all four of you will do marvelously!" Bagman answered. Meanwhile, Harry's anger was beginning to rise. Bagman's non answer could have meant anything, including that their friends and loved ones were in mortal peril if they were not able to rescue them in the allotted time. The others took Bagman's response no better than he did and he could tell that Fleur was seriously contemplating cursing the man.

"Your hour will start in five minutes. I'll leave you to prepare yourselves. Good luck!" Bagman said as he made a hasty retreat. The four champions lined up at the edge of the platform and waited for the challenge to begin. Unlike last time there was no talking, each of them was fully focused on the challenge ahead. In the background Harry could hear Bagman welcoming everyone to the second task and explaining the rules to them. He ignored it, still angry at Bagman. Perhaps he was just an announcer and not really in charge of the tournament, but Harry still considered him a part of it and therefore someone who deserved his scorn.

"The task will begin in 5... 4..." Harry heard Bagman's voice say loudly.

"3..." He took a small portion of the gillyweed, enough for about twenty to thirty minutes, out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.

"2..." Harry forcefully swallowed the distasteful plant. As it travelled down his throat he felt an odd burning sensation that let him know it was working.

"1..." He could already feel the changes in his body beginning. In a few moments his hands would grow webbing between his fingers, gills would sprout from his neck, his feet would elongate and turn into fins, and many other small changes would occur that would turn him into a perfect swimming machine.

"GO!"

Harry and the other champions all dove into the lake as Bagman's countdown ended. He slowed down and waited for the transformation to complete as he watched the others split up and head in different directions. Cedric and Fleur were both using the bubble head charm while Krum had taken a completely different approach and transformed part of his body into a shark. It was clearly not an animagus transformation but one done with a wand and Harry wondered what negative side effects such a move might also have. A loss of intelligence was almost a given, although for a task as simple as 'Find Hermione' it would probably be adequate.

Once the others were out of sight Harry cast a disillusionment charm on himself, hoping it would help him avoid any underwater threats and prevent his competition from following him. He then cast the tracking charm and was relieved to see the bright golden line once again spring forth from the tip of his wand and point down and eastward towards one of the deeper sections of the lake. He began swimming as fast as his new body would allow towards where the magic was pointing him. Cedric had chosen to search in this direction as well, although it was probably a lucky guess on his part. Harry caught up with and passed the other Hogwarts champion less than a minute later, despite the fact that Cedric had left the starting point almost thirty seconds before he had. Cedric's head shot up and looked around, but he could not see through Harry's disillusionment charm. Harry smiled as he swam past Cedric and thought about how glad he was to have the gillyweed. Cedric and Fleur had no chance of catching him as long as they used the bubble head charm, although Krum might be able to with his partial transfiguration.

Harry realized a moment too late that he was paying too much attention to following the golden line and not enough to his surroundings when he came over a small underwater hill and found himself face to face with an equally surprised giant squid. The squid's senses were much more adept at finding predators and prey it could not see so it was able to quickly find Harry even through the disillusionment charm. The huge animal began to panic at the sudden perceived threat and thrash its arms about wildly. Harry dodged as fast as he could, but he was not able to completely escape the giant squid in such close quarters. One of its huge arms hit Harry in the side and managed to knock his wand out of his hand and send him flying through the water several feet.

He hit the lake bed with a soft grunt and immediately started looking for his wand. Fortunately the tracking spell was still working and so he knew that it would be found at the nearer end of the golden line. Unfortunately though, his wand was now directly under the giant squid. Knowing he had no choice, Harry swam as quickly as he could towards his dropped wand. The squid sensed him swimming under it and began to sink to the lake floor trying to crush Harry under itself. As Harry reached his wand he knew he could not swim fast enough to avoid the squid so he spun around and yelled "Reducto!" The curse hit one of the squid's many arms and opened a large, bloody gash in it. The squid did not scream in pain but instead quickly retracted its arms and began to slowly move away from Harry, who it now knew was a major threat. Harry began to swim away, eager to put some distance between himself and the squid, as the large animal seemed to think about whether or not to pursue him. To Harry's immense relief the squid slowly began to retreat, allowing him to continue on with the second task.

Harry's tracking charm had ended as soon as he cast another spell, a major flaw with the spell as far as he was concerned, so he recast the spell and restarted his journey towards Daphne. His violent encounter with the squid had taken less than two minutes, but he was still unhappy with the set back. After few uneventful minutes Harry swam over the edge of an underwater valley and spotted his target. Daphne, along with the other three people taken from the other champions, was tied to the lake floor and surrounded by merpeople. Unsure whether or not they would try and attack him, Harry disabled his disillusionment charm and approached cautiously. As he got closer the merpeople spotted him but made no movement to attack him or stop him, although he found that they were holding spears or tridents.

Once he reached Daphne he saw that she appeared to be unconscious. She did not seem to be breathing and when he put his hand over her heart he could not feel it beating. Knowing that he had reached her well under the hour he had been given, he assumed that she had been placed in some kind of magical stasis. Using a cutting charm he removed the ropes tying Daphne and wrapped one arm around her in order to carry her. He began to swim towards Hermione but a group of the merpeople jumped in his way and began threatening him with their weapons. Harry frowned and guessed that the champions would only be allowed to take one hostage. Harry knew that the other champions still had over fifty minutes to rescue the people that had been taken from them so it was not imperative for him to take them yet. First he needed to get Daphne to safety.

Harry sank to the lake floor and picked up a rock as the merpeople watched on curiously. "Celario rock." he said softly as he cast the first part of the tracking charm on the rock which he then dropped back where he found it. He was fairly certain he could find this spot again without it if he needed to, but having the charm there to help reassured him. He then pulled Daphne close towards him and began to swim towards the surface. Harry was relieved to see that the merpeople seemed happy to let him go. Harry swam up and out of the valley and began to head back towards the viewing platform. He had not gotten very far when he suddenly stopped and began looking around. He had been by this part of the lake before, but this time it seemed different somehow. He didn't have to look for very long before he found what had changed.

About two dozen grindylows had hidden themselves behind plants, under rocks, in the mud on the lake floor, and in various other places in order to set up an ambush. They had clearly seen him approaching but had not yet made their move, choosing to wait until Harry was a little bit closer and it would be harder for him to escape. The creatures were vicious and quite dangerous when they hunted in packs but they did have several weaknesses. One of them was their speed. Harry could easily out swim them when using gillyweed, however that would be much more difficult to do while carrying an unconscious person. He did however have one trick up his sleeve that they would not be expecting. In his preparations Harry had wondered how muggle underwater vessels moved. Most of them used propellers to force the water in one direction and push the ship in the other. Others used jets that did something similar. It seemed obvious to him that if he could find a spell that would do that he could propel himself underwater much faster than he would be able to swim. At first he had considered conjuring or transfiguring something into a propeller but realized actually holding and using it would be difficult. Finally the perfect spell to use had come to him and he was a little shocked by its simplicity.

"Aguamenti!" Harry said, grasping his wand tightly and pointing it behind him. Immediately a strong jet of water began pouring out of his wand, but since it was already underwater the force propelled Harry forwards. That, combined with his fin-like legs that were still kicking as strong as he could, enabled Harry to swim much faster than the grindylows even though he was carrying Daphne. Seeing that their ambush had failed, the grindylows began chasing after him but it soon became clear they were too late. Harry was simply too fast for them. Eventually they returned to their hiding spots and angrily waited for the next opportunity to come around.

It did not take long after that for Harry to reach the surface. As first his head then Daphne's rose out of the water the waiting fans began to clap and cheer loudly. Harry began swimming towards the viewing platform and felt the effects of the gillyweed beginning to wear off. If he had stayed underwater the gillyweed would still be working fine, but the transformation rapidly begins to reverse once the person begins breathing air again. Harry reached the platform just as his body finished transforming back to its normal state.

"And at just over thirteen minutes, our first champion to complete the task is Harry Potter!" Ludo Bagman announced to the excitement of the crowd. Harry was still trying to get Daphne safely on the platform when her eyes opened and she started coughing. Once she was finally on the platform he magically dried and warmed her and pulled her into a hug. She leaned heavily on him, still weak from the effects of the spell that had been used to keep her unconscious.

"It's ok Daphne, I've got you." Harry said, trying to comfort her. "You're safe now." Daphne nodded and laid her head on his shoulder. A member of the tournament crew approached them with a large towel which Harry gratefully took and covered them with.

"What about the others? Hermione is down there." Daphne asked.

"I know. They're still down there. There is still about fourty minutes left so hopefully they will be able to make it too." Harry answered.

"You're going back down there, aren't you?"

"If I have to." Harry responded seriously. He didn't really want to, but he was not willing to innocent bystanders get hurt in this stupid tournament. "I need to go talk to Bagman, will you be ok here for a minute?" Daphne nodded her head and reluctantly released her hold on him. Harry smiled and gave her a quick kiss before walking towards Bagman who was still talking to the crowd which was eagerly awaiting the next champion.

"Mr Bagman!" Harry shouted, trying to get the man's attention. The announcer looked Harry's way with a surprised and confused look on his face for a moment, and then broke in to a large smile.

"Well done Harry! I knew you could do it." Bagman said in congratulations.

"Yeah thanks. I need to know what is going to happen if the other champions aren't able to rescue their hostage before the hour is up."

"But you already saved your friend, Harry." Bagman pointed out. "Why don't you just relax and watch the rest of the competition?"

"Because one of my friends is still down there!" Harry yelled angrily. "And if you won't answer me I am going back down there and getting all of them."

"Settle down." Bagman said with a frustrated sigh. "Nothing is going to happen to them, even if the other champions can't reach them in the hour. Did you really think the Ministry of Magic would endanger children like that?"

"Yes, actually. I did." Harry answered and walked away feeling relieved. In Harry's opinion Ludo Bagman was a weak and stupid man, but he wasn't a liar. No one was going to be in life threatening danger in this part of the tournament at least. Once he reached Daphne he sat down beside her and pulled the towel back around them.

"Everything ok?" she asked, guessing from his reaction that it was.

"They'll be safe." Harry replied. Daphne nodded and put her arms back around him as they began to wait for the other champions to make it out of the lake.

"Thank you for coming for me, Harry." Daphne said after a few minutes.

"You weren't ever in any real danger though." Harry responded, still feeling a little angry that the tournament officials had not made that point clear before the second task began.

"True, but you didn't know that." Harry shrugged and thought she was giving him too much credit.

"I won't let you get hurt." he said earnestly. Daphne smiled, knowing he meant it.

"I know. That's one of the things I like about you." Harry grinned in response, happy to hear that she appreciated his concern for her safety. When he thought about it he realized that he cared a lot for her and not just for her safety.

"Daphne, will you be my girlfriend?" Harry asked uncertainly. He knew it probably wasn't the best time to ask, but he had been struck by the sudden urge to do it and his courageous Gryffindor side wouldn't allow him to back down. Daphne looked surprised by his question but her expression quickly changed to a happy one.

"Yes, Harry. I will. I'm just surprised it took you this long to ask." she answered, playfully teasing him. Harry shrugged and kissed her in response before realizing they were still in a very public place. He blushed slightly and then put his arm around her as they watched the rest of the second task. At halfway through the hour Fleur Delacour was brought back to the surface alone after being attacked by a group of grindylows. Harry thought he could guess exactly where that had happened. The Beauxbatons champion was clearly upset and tried to get back in the lake to rescue her little sister. She only calmed down slightly when informed that Gabrielle would not be harmed and would be returned to her as soon as the task was over.

By the end of the hour neither of the other two champions had returned. The crowd was growing restless as it eagerly waited and an announcement was made that the champions could still complete the tasks for fewer points if they were still able to rescue their hostage. Five minutes after the hour had passed Cedric Diggory finally made it back to the surface with Cho Chang held close to him. The crowd, mostly made up of Hogwarts students, was thrilled that their two champions had done the best. Viktor Krum was only moments behind Cedric but when he reached the surface he seemed quite disappointed in his performance. Despite his anger at himself, Krum was very careful with Hermione. He gently placed her on the platform and did not leave her side until she had woken up. Harry smiled at that as he realized that the large Bulgarian really did care for his friend.

Harry hardly paid attention as Bagman announced the results. He knew the most important part: he had once again come in first and should now be the favorite to win the tournament, just like he had planned. A date for the third and final task was announced, but no clue was given as to what it would be. Harry held Daphne close to him and found that at the moment he did not care. He had months to worry about the future and at the moment all he wanted to do was celebrate his victory with his friends and new girlfriend.

* * *

Author's Note:

Due to the surprisingly positive response to my suggestion after the last chapter that Harry's animagus form should be ManBearPig, I have decided that the sequel to this story will be entitled "Harry Potter and the Vice President" and will feature Harry's attempt to escape from a very confused but obsessed American politician.

I'm super cereal here, people.


	15. Chapter 15

The outcome of the second task seemed to put everyone in Hogwarts in a much better mood. Harry, of course, knew that like most of the changes at his school this one was most likely temporary as well but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy not being an outcast for a few days. Even so, Harry was beginning to get a much better idea of who truly cared about him and who was just doing whatever was popular at that particular point in time. The one person who Harry didn't understand was oddly enough one that until recently had been the easiest to understand: Draco Malfoy. He no longer went out of his way to antagonize Harry, preferring instead to avoid him and pretend he didn't exist. It was another situation Harry was happy to let continue.

Rita Skeeter had continued to write about him, although her favorite topic was no longer calling him a dark lord but claiming that he was angry at Viktor Krum for stealing Hermione away from him. Apparently she had forgotten that Daphne was supposed to be his 'dark lady' even though she was the one who first suggested it. He was getting very tired of dealing with the troublesome reporter but there was, for the moment anyway, little he could do about it. The wizarding world did not have laws against slander or libel. A man who had been insulted was expected to challenge his insulter to a duel and settle the conflict that way. However Harry couldn't do that without looking like a bad guy so instead he was waiting to see what information Daphne's father could come up with to use against Skeeter.

Hermione and Daphne were both eager to restart the training they had temporarily stopped so that Harry could prepare for the second task, but he insisted that he be given time to relax. The stress of the year was finally starting to catch up with him and he needed some way to get past it. It turned out that spending time alone with his new girlfriend was the best therapy he could ask for. They didn't use magic and sometimes they barely even spoke to each other, but her reassuring presence was exactly what he needed. Daphne seemed to realize this and happily complied.

On one such night a few weeks after the second task Harry and Daphne were sitting outside in the shade of a giant oak tree. The winter cold had finally broken, melting the snow that had covered the grounds and signaling that spring was rapidly approaching. Harry and Daphne were not the only ones taking advantage of the relatively warm weather by coming outside, in fact it seemed like half of the school was somewhere on the grounds happy to finally be outside enjoying a pleasant day. Harry sat on the ground with his back propped against the trunk of the ancient tree while Daphne lay curled against him with her head resting comfortably on his lap. They were watching a group of third years play with a fanged frisbee which snarled and bit at whoever was closest to the amusement of everyone else. The frisbees were technically not allowed at Hogwarts, but Harry had already seen two professors pass by and say nothing about it including Professor Sprout. He guessed they were as happy as the students to be out of the castle.

"Harry." Daphne said softly, trying to get his attention. It was the first either of them had spoken in almost thirty minutes and it took Harry a moment to realize his girlfriend was trying to talk to him.

"Yeah?" he replied, looking down at her. Daphne had turned so that she could get a better look at him.

"What do you think you'll do once we get out of here?" she asked.

"Depends on what you mean by that. Do you mean once we get up from this tree, or once we leave for the summer, or after we graduate?"

"Either of the last two I guess."

"This summer it will be back to the Dursley's, like always." Harry stopped and frowned a little. Daphne knew he did not like his relatives, but she didn't know exactly how horribly they had treated him. It wasn't that he was trying to hide it from her, just the topic always made him uncomfortable. "Hopefully I won't have to stay long, Sirius said he was working on a place for me to stay over the summer. I used to spend part of the summer at the Burrow, that's what the Weasley's call their house, but I guess that probably won't happen this year."

"Ron still hasn't apologized, huh?"

"No. The sad part is that I know he has realized he was wrong to do what he did, he's just too stubborn to admit it. He was a good friend once, before all of this." Harry added sadly.

"Maybe he will come around, maybe not. Most people don't keep the same friends forever you know. They grow apart and become different people. It's not anyone's fault really, it's just the way things happen."

Harry nodded slightly in agreement. "I know, but Ron was the first friend I ever made except for Hagrid. It's hard to just let that go."

"I asked what you were going to do because my father wanted me to invite you to spend part of the summer at our house." Daphne said, smiling at Harry's shocked reaction.

"Is that really a good idea?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"What? Do you not want to see me over the summer? I see how it is, probably have some muggle girl already lined up for a summer fling." Daphne responded, acting like she was hurt.

"No! Nothing like that! I'm just worried your parents won't like me."

"Believe it or not you have already made a good impression, even on Astoria. Don't worry so much about it, just be yourself and you will do fine." she advised. "So is that a yes then?"

"I will try my best, but sometimes what I do over the summer isn't really up to me." Daphne nodded and accepted his answer.

"What about the other part, what you want to do after Hogwarts?" she asked curiously.

"I've never really thought about it honestly. I think I spend too much time just trying to survive to worry about the distant future all the time. Maybe I'll play professional Quidditch. Everyone seems to think that I'm good enough to make it, although after seeing Krum play at the World Cup last summer I know I'm not anywhere close to as good as he is. The only other thing that interests me is becoming an Auror."

"Really? You want to spend the rest of your life fighting evil wizards?" she asked, surprised by his answer.

"Well you know after you beat your first one you just develop a taste for it." Harry answered jokingly. Daphne swatted at his arm in response. "Seriously though, I think I would be good at it. And it would me nice to help make the world a better place."

"Maybe, but you would be working for the Ministry." Daphne reminded him.

"I hadn't thought about that. I'll just have to hope that by the time I graduate someone has replaced Fudge then. I can't imagine anyone worse. What about you?"

"I'd be happy with a lot of things as long as I am not just sitting at home being a bored housewife. That's what is expected of most pureblood females after all. I guess I will eventually have to take over the responsibilities as the head of the Greengrass family from my father, which mostly means guiding our investments and trying to improve our social and political standing, but hopefully that won't happen for a long time. There is one thing I've thought a lot about..."

"What?"

"My father always talks about how becoming an Unspeakable was the best job he ever had. I've thought about following in his footsteps. Plus there is the mystery surrounding the Unspeakables which I have to admit I find quite attractive." Harry smiled and realized that during the conversation neither of them had brought up the fact that they both believed Voldemort was still alive and would eventually find a way to come back. They would both be involved in that war no matter what else they did, so perhaps their plans would never come true. A war was brewing and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"Don't think about it, Harry." Daphne said after seeing the expression on his face change. "You've got to have something to fight for. A happy future is a good place to start."

"I think my little vacation is over." Harry said sadly. "It's been nice these past few weeks not worrying about the tournament or forcing myself to train all of the time, but there is too much at stake to keep slacking off."

"I'll be right there with you, and so will Hermione if you let her. She's still desperate to find a way to make herself useful, you need to be a good friend and help her find it." Daphne told him. Harry knew she was right, Hermione was a great friend and he owed her that much.

"Ok. From now on you both start training in the Room of Requirement with me. And... I want to go back to my old training method." Harry added, knowing that Daphne would object. Judging by the frown on her face, she was about to.

"I understand." she finally said to Harry's amazement. "But would you do something for me first? Tell Dumbledore about it before you do. I may not exactly trust the old man but he does know more about magic than just about anyone else. I've never heard of anyone else being able to do what you do, and frankly I'm worried about you."

"Aww, you do care." Harry joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Of course I do. I've put far too much time and effort into you to see you kill yourself with some crazy training routine." she said smiling sweetly back at him.

"Fair enough. I will talk to Professor Dumbledore. Happy?"

"Ecstatic." she answered and brought her head up to kiss him. "I wonder where he's been lately anyhow. He hasn't been at meals all week."

"I'm not sure, but Professor Moody has been gone a lot too." Harry thought about it for a moment and wondered what they could be up to. Dumbledore had mentioned that he had important work to do and that Sirius was a part of it, but his godfather had not given him any hints about what he was spending his free time doing or even where he was currently living. Wondering if the Headmaster was even in the castle at the moment Harry pulled the Marauder's Map out of his book bag which was lying next to him. After speaking the code phrase to activate it and tapping the map with his wand Harry began looking for the Professor. He was not in his office or anywhere else on the grounds that Harry could see,

"Harry! Look!" Daphne said excitedly and pointed to a part of the map far from where he had been looking, Looking at the point she was drawing his attention to he saw his name and hers together like he expected them to be. That, however, was not what she was pointing at. Not far from their names was one he did not expect: Rita Skeeter.

Harry's head turned towards where he expected her to be but saw nothing, Slowly, hoping she would not see what he was doing, Harry reached for his wand. He tried not to stare at the spot where he knew she was until the moment he knew he was ready.

"Accio invisibility cloak!" Harry said, pointing his wand towards where the map said Rita Skeeter was. But to his surprise, nothing happened. On the map the dot marked Rita Skeeter was making a rapid retreat. He kept looking, but still saw nothing, "Damn! She was here, she had to be, I thought that would work,"

"Harry, I don't think she was using an invisibility cloak..."

"No, she must not be. It wasn't a disillusionment charm either. We would have been able to see it when she moved, What then?" Harry said, mostly thinking to himself.

"I'm not sure, but I think I know." Daphne said, quickly catching Harry's attention. "I thought I saw something flying off where she was supposed to be. Something small, some type of bug maybe." Harry thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out what it meant.

"There's got to be a minimum size on Animagus forms, right?" Harry said eventually.

"Probably, but remember that Pettigrew is a rat. A rat is a lot smaller than a person, so it might be possible. But I know for a fact that Skeeter isn't registered as an Animagus with the Ministry. That's illegal Harry, and punishable with a big fine and possible time in Azkaban. Maybe more depending on if they've used their form to commit crimes."

"This is what we've been looking for Daphne." Harry said with a mischievous grin on his face. "We can take Skeeter down with this."

"That's one way to look at it, but I think she deserves worse than a fine and a few months in Azkaban for what she's done to us. I'll owl my father and let him know what we found. Don't worry Harry, we'll come up with a good punishment. Her days of attacking us are over." Daphne said with a grin. Harry shrugged and agreed, knowing that his girlfriend had a much better imagination than he did when he came to this type of thing. And he wanted only the worst for Rita Skeeter.

* * *

It took a few days but Harry was eventually able to schedule a meeting with Dumbledore. They agreed to meet in his office after dinner, but when Harry gave the gargoyle the password and walked up the stairs he found that the door to the office was closed. He listened closely to see if he could hear anything to indicate that Dumbledore was inside but heard nothing, Harry decided to try and open the door to see if it was locked, but when he put his hand on the doorknob he froze and looked at in with a confused look on his face. The doorknob felt different in some indefinable way. It was not hot or cold and it wasn't moving at all but there was something about it that made his fingers tingle when they touched it. The feeling most reminded him of the time when he was much younger and had accidently touched an electrical cord with some of the protective covering stripped off and had received a brief but painful shock. Unlike that sensation though, this was not painful. Just different.

Harry took his hand off the door and the feeling faded, but when he put his hand back on the door it returned. Still curious about what he was feeling, Harry put his hand on a different spot on the door and found that it felt the same. While he was thinking about what it could be the sensation suddenly stopped and Harry heard the lock on the door click open. There were also voices inside talking. One was obviously Professor Dumbledore and though the other sounded somewhat familiar he could not place it. A few moment later the door opened revealing Professor Dumbledore.

"Right on time, Harry. I apologize for the delay." the Headmaster said. Harry took a step into the office and saw who Dumbledore had been talking to. It was the large, black Auror that had questioned him after the Dementor incident. Harry thought he had remembered being told that the man was Auror Shacklebolt at some point.

"Thank you again, Albus. I will begin work on the issue we previously discussed at once." Professor Dumbledore nodded and the Auror turned to leave. As he walked past Harry he paused and smiled at the young man. "Mr Potter." he said as a greeting before continuing out the door, shutting it behind him.

"I trust you remember Auror Shacklebolt, Harry?" Professor Dumbledore said while motioning for him to sit down.

"Yes, sir. Why was an Auror here?" Harry asked, wondering if perhaps they had heard news on Barty Crouch Junior.

"Kingsley is an old friend of mine and was here to see me. Unfortunately there is no further news either on the Dementors which you drove off or Barty Crouch Junior." Dumbledore replied. Harry looked up in surprise but then smiled, the Headmaster seemed to know what everyone was thinking.

"I see. Sir, when I tried to open the door earlier I noticed that it felt odd. Whatever was wrong with it went away right before you opened the door though." Harry said, which drew a large smile from Dumbledore.

"Indeed? I'd like to try something, Harry. I am going to cast a spell on this box and I want you to tell me if it feels similar." Harry nodded as Dumbledore pulled out his wand as silently cast a spell on an ornate wooded box that was sitting on his desk. Harry reached out and laid his hand on the box and found that the sensation was very similar but different.

"It's not the same, sir." Harry said as he frowned in frustration. "They're close, but it almost feels like this one is missing something."

"Very well done, Harry!" Dumbledore replied, briefly clapping his hands in congratulations. "What you sensed on the door and what you are now sensing on the box are in fact active spells. You were exactly correct in commenting that they are different because this box only has a locking charm on it while earlier this entire room including the door had both locking and silencing charms."

"This is the first time I've felt something like that. Why?"

"The ability only manifests itself once a wizard begins to grow comfortable with his magic. While all witches and wizards can do this, many never do." Professor Dumbledore explained, though Harry was still confused.

"I'm not sure I understand. I don't think I've ever been uncomfortable with magic." Harry said, still thinking over what the headmaster had told him.

"I believe you, but think back to when you first began your education. Were you not only aware of the magic in and around you while casting spells or seeing magic performed?" Dumbledore asked.

"I guess so. I haven't really thought about it." Harry answered honestly.

"The magic inside of you is always there, not only when you are using it. If you concentrate, you will likely even be able to feel it within you." Dumbledore responded. "From now on I would like you to think about what your magic feels like both when you are casting spells and when you are not. You may also consider what the magic surrounding enchanted objects such as your broom feel like. With practice and experience you will eventually be able to identify which spells have been used merely by the sensations they provoke."

"Really? I'll try and do that." Harry said with an eager nod.

"Now I assume that was not the reason you sought this meeting. How can I help you, Harry?

"I wanted to ask you about the training I've been doing. According to Daphne, they way I've been doing it isn't exactly normal." Dumbledore smiled, happy that Harry wanted to talk about this subject that he had been considering bringing up for some time. Dumbledore knew that there was something different about Harry and was very interested in finding out what it was.

"I see." Dumbledore answered. "Please Harry, explain what you have been doing to prepare for the tournament."

"Mostly I have just been learning the spells that I would normally learn in my fifth, sixth, and seventh years. That has been good, but it isn't really what I wanted to talk to you about. Some of the times when I'm practicing I will keep casting spells as strong as I can until I can't do any more magic."

"That is not wise, Harry." Professor Dumbledore said, interrupting him. "Doing so could potentially stunt your magical growth. Magical exhaustion can also be painful to recover from and can take up to a week."

"I know, at least that is what the books all said. But when I do it I wake up the next morning feeling just fine." Dumbledore frowned, thinking about what Harry was saying.

"Are you sure you are actually reaching the point of magical exhaustion?"

"Well once I'm done it takes all of my strength to cast even simple spells like Lumos. Is that close enough?" Harry asked.

"Indeed it is." Dumbledore answered. It did sound as if Harry was exhausting himself, but the rest of his story made no sense. Doing so should damage his body, not help strengthen it. "How exactly do you feel after one of these training sessions?"

"Tired and weak mostly. I usually fall asleep right after I'm done. Then the next morning I wake up feeling great with nothing wrong with me other than I'm really hungry. I wouldn't do it at all if it didn't help me get stronger faster than anything else I've ever done. Sir I can do things now that I know I couldn't do at the beginning of the year. Like that Patronus I used, I'm still shocked that I was able to do that. I'm just not sure what to do."

"Please do not do this again until I have the chance to monitor you during such a training session. After that I would like you to spend the night in the infirmary so Madam Pompfrey can ensure that you are not hurting yourself. We can discuss what is happening once we have more information. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes sir," Harry answered at once, It was exactly what he was hoping for. "When can we do that?" Dumbledore chuckled at his eagerness.

"Is this weekend early enough for you?" the Headmaster asked, still smiling,

"That would be great. Thanks again, Professor." Harry said standing up from his chair.

"There was one more thing I wished to ask you Harry. More to satisfy my own curiosity than anything else." Dumbledore said. "Has young Mr Malfoy's behavior concerning you changed since the Dementor attack?" Harry was surprised that Professor Dumbledore knew about that.

"It has actually. He used to try and upset me whenever he could, now he just ignores me. Why do you ask sir?"

"Harry, you must remember that Mr Malfoy has you to thank for saving his life. In pureblood society when a person saves your life you become indebted to them. Magically speaking this does not mean anything, a life debt will not force a person to do anything they do not want to. However, it has long been a tradition for the wizard whose life has been saved to swear an oath pledging to help his rescuer in any way he can. To not do so is considered quite humiliating."

"So what do you think Malfoy did?" Harry asked.

"I am unsure. Draco is quite sensitive when it comes to questions regarding his and his family's honor, however his rivalry with you could prevent it. Perhaps you should ask him yourself." Dumbledore suggested. "Thank you for coming tonight Harry, it has been most enlightening."

"Thanks for helping me, Professor."

"Harry, that is precisely why I am here. Good night." Harry nodded and walked out the door, leaving Professor Dumbledore alone to consider the conversation. While relieved to learn that Harry had not been conducting any dark rituals he was now at a loss to explain what was going on with the young man. Harry Potter was quite the enigma, and Dumbledore knew better than anyone else how important it was to solve that particular riddle. It could mean the future of the wizarding world.

Harry meanwhile was hopeful that he could soon return to the type of training that he was convinced was necessary for him to become strong enough to survive the war he knew was coming. Despite his improvements he knew he was still no match for the stronger, adult wizards that were loyal to Voldemort. Additionally he had very little experience in actual duels. His training for the tournament was good but not for preparing to fight other wizards. Yet he knew his entrance in the tournament was the catalyst for a lot of good changes that had happened since then.

He also wondered what Dumbledore was up to. His frequent trips away from the castle and his secret meetings with Aurors must be connected in some way. He knew from his talks with Daphne that Dumbledore had been Voldemort's chief rival in the first war so perhaps he was already preparing for the next one. Harry wondered if Dumbledore would try and prevent him from fighting when the war did come, but part of him doubted it. After all his parents had joined the war effort right out of school along with Sirius, Remus, and the traitor Pettigrew.

His feeling of impending danger was beginning to bother him again. He knew he still had some time to prepare, but that time was growing short. Voldemort had at least two loyal followers still helping him and yet nobody knew what they were up to. It was frustrating for him not to be able to do anything after confronting him in two of the last three years. Harry knew that there would be another confrontation in the future, he just wondered how soon it would be.

* * *

Author's Note:

For those of you that were confused I was joking in the last two notes when I suggested making Harry's animagus form manbearpig. In fact I still have no plans for Harry to have any animagus form at all. While certainly it would be a useful skill I don't think it would fit in well with this story.

Thanks for all the reviews and comments, especially those that say specifically what you like and dislike. Those help the most.

People have asked if I plan on writing anything else. While I am not currently writing any other stories I am working on ideas for a story mainly regarding Harry and Tonks. It will probably be much shorter than this one with a larger emphasis on action and the main villain won't be Voldemort but Bellatrix. Still in the works, but coming (maybe).


	16. Chapter 16

The next day Harry began checking the Marauder's Map periodically to see if Rita Skeeter was back on the castle grounds. So far he had not noticed her and he wondered whether she was staying away because she realized she had been caught or if she simply had other things she needed to do. Daphne had contacted her father to tell him what they had found but so far he had not heard what they were planning on doing with the information and decided to not interrupt their plotting. After all her family had been attacked in a way far more vicious than he had so it was only right that they were allowed to have their revenge.

It wasn't until that Friday that Harry finally saw Rita Skeeter's name on the Marauder's Map. She was currently between the castle and Hagrid's hut, giving him the perfect excuse to let her over hear a conversation. Daphne, along with the rest of the fourth year Slytherins, was still in class but the Gryffindors had a free period. Since he could not enlist his girlfriend's help he ran to find Hermione who was sitting in the library studying.

"Hermione, can you do me a favor and come with me to see Hagrid?" Harry asked once he found her. Hermione looked up from her book and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Why do you need me to go with you?" she asked, seemingly eager to get back to her book.

"Because Rita Skeeter is hanging around his hut and this is the perfect opportunity to mess with her. I'll explain on the way, ok?" Harry begged. Hermione sighed in frustration and then began to put her things away. Harry had already let her know what they had discovered regarding Rita Skeeter's illegal animagus status and so he used the time it took to walk outside to give her directions on what he wanted to do.

As they exited the castle and began the long walk towards Hagrid's home Harry rechecked the map to make sure Skeeter had noticed them. On the map he could clearly see her dot quickly approaching his and Hermione's. 'Good.' Harry thought with a smile.

"So, I got a letter from Sirius this week." Harry said using the phrase that would tell Hermione to start the conversation they had planned out on the way.

"Really? How is your godfather doing?" Hermione asked as they continued walking. No one else was around to overhear their conversation so they could feel free to say exactly what they wanted to Rita Skeeter to hear.

"He's doing well, all things considered. Still looking for that traitor, Peter Pettigrew." Harry replied, the distaste for the man evident in his tone. Hermione meanwhile just nodded at his answer.

"It's funny how things worked out, isn't it?" she asked.

"Funny? Are you mad? It's not funny that my godfather got thrown in to Azkaban without even being given a trial for a crime he didn't commit while the real traitor is given the Order of Merlin!" Harry said angrily.

"In their defense Harry everyone still thinks Peter Pettigrew is dead." Hermione commented in an apparent attempt to calm her friend.

"Well it's their fault they didn't do a very good job investigating his supposed murder. But apparently all it takes to fake your own death is to cut off your finger and find someone to blame. One of these days though, Sirius Black will have his justice."

"I'm sure that is what he wants, too. He just has to be careful with the Ministry still looking for him. He's at least somewhere safe isn't he?" Hermione asked.

"For the moment, yes. He's hiding in Berlin for a while before heading to Amsterdam in a few weeks." Harry answered, knowing full well that Sirius had not visited and had no plans to visit either of those two cities. "He can't come back until we find that rat Pettigrew. It'd go a lot easier if the Ministry would admit they made a mistake."

"Oh Harry you know that is never going to happen."

"Probably not. But can you imagine how embarrassed they are going to be when the truth comes out?" Harry said, hoping that it would catch Skeeter's attention. He knew that she loved nothing more than a potential scandal and he was offering her a good one.

"I suppose it will be funny." Hermione said with a small grin. "Oh look, there's Hagrid! Come on, Harry." With that she and Harry ran the rest of the way to Hagrid's home where the friendly half-giant welcomed them in excitedly. Harry was glad to see his friend again, even if he had only gotten the idea because he was trying to trick Rita Skeeter. And there was nothing Hagrid liked more than to have friends over for a cup of tea and some rock cakes, even if his guests turned down his tough cuisine.

Rita Skeeter meanwhile was just as excited as Hagrid, although for completely different reasons. She had seemingly stumbled on a major story! Not only did she learn that the only person to ever escape from Azkaban was Harry Potter's godfather but that the boy seemed to truly believe he was innocent and Peter Pettigrew was not just alive but guilty of the crimes Black had been accused of. Surely there must be some way to verify the claims, but she knew she would be writing a story about it either way. After all, as long as the story sold copies of the Daily Prophet who cared if she really checked her sources? And the fact that it would irritate the Ministry of Magic was a happy bonus as far as she was concerned.

'Yes,' Skeeter thought as she flew off towards the edge of the wards, 'this is going to be an award winner!'

* * *

The next day Harry sat in the Great Hall finishing his dinner. He was eager to go meet Professor Dumbledore so the older man could observe his training and hopefull" "y tell him whether or not it was having any negative effects on him. Hermione and Daphne had both expressed interest in being there but he preferred to have the meeting without the distraction they would provide. Daphne had been disappointed, but not enough so for her to not sit by him at dinner.

"I wonder what Dumbledore is going to have me do." Harry wondered aloud to no one in particular.

"If I knew I would have told you the first time you said that three days ago." Daphne answered, softly laughing at him. "You said he wants to see what you've been doing, he'll probably just let you do whatever you want."

"I still don't understand why he wants you to do this. Is it because of the Dementors?" Neville asked. Harry frowned at the question. He had not made Neville a part of his training or been as open with him as he had been with Daphne and Hermione. Part of him wanted to keep his actions as secret as possible, but another part of him argued that Neville had been a good friend to him when he needed it the most and he owed the other boy the truth.

"Neville, it's because of the training I have been doing for the tournament. It's not exactly normal." Harry began, wondering how to explain what he had doing. "I'll tell you more later, but basically it comes down to the fact that I don't react like other people do to very strenuous spell casting."

"Ok, I guess I'll just have to wait to understand it." Neville said with a laugh. Harry sighed, grateful that his friend had taken his answer so well. Harry was wondering if he should invite Neville to practice with him along with Daphne and Hermione. Although he liked Neville he was not convinced the other boy had the potential to be a powerful wizard even with a lot of work. His excellence at Herbology seemed to be evened out by his ineptitude in potions and poor spell work. Harry decided that Neville deserved a chance to prove himself, perhaps there was more to the boy than met the eye.

"I promise you, Neville, that if this goes like I am hoping I will tell you everything." Harry said sincerely. Daphne looked at him curiously, wondering what exactly her boyfriend meant by that but having a fairly good idea. It was then that they heard a familiar voice speaking behind them.

"Good evening, Harry. It's wonderful to see you again."

Harry turned to look at who was speaking to him and was surprised but happy to see...

"Professor Lupin? What are you doing here?" The former professor just laughed at Harry's question.

"I'm not your professor anymore Harry. It's just Remus, or I think you've earned the right to call me Moony like Padfoot does." Remus answered. The older man looked tired, something Harry attributed to the fact that the full moon was only a few days earlier. Despite this he still looked happier than he had been for most of the previous year when he still believed all of his friends were either dead or traitors.

"I guess I could call you Moony." Harry answered, smiling. "How have you been? I hadn't heard from you in a while."

"Doing good, Harry. You could say that I am doing some freelance work for Professor Dumbledore. That's actually part of the reason I am here tonight, I offered to help him monitor your practice tonight. If that would be ok with you, of course."

"That would be great!" Harry said excitedly. Remus had been his favorite professor and to be honest he was a little bit disappointed not to have heard from him until now, especially with all that had happened at the end of last year.

"Actually I have a feeling that he wants me to do more than just monitor, but we will have to wait and see what the old man has to say." Remus added with a small shake of his head at the thought of Dumbledore's little games. "We can go whenever you're ready."

"Thanks, Moony." Harry said obviously still feeling a little awkward using his old professor's nickname. After giving Daphne a quick kiss he said good bye to his friends and followed Remus out of the Great Hall. They were headed to a magically expanded classroom near the infirmary that Professor Dumbledore had prepared for their experiment. "So what exactly are you doing for Dumbledore?" Harry asked as they walked. Remus took a few moments to answer, clearly trying to think of a good way to phrase his response.

"Professor Dumbledore wishes to improve relations between werewolves and wizards and I am acting as sort of an ambassador. It's difficult though, especially since the Ministry of Magic considers us 'dark creatures'. It's pathetic really, I'm the ambassador and I can't even keep a job in the wizarding world because of my condition. I wouldn't listen to me in their position." Remus said with a disappointed shrug.

"Maybe he is going about this in the wrong way then. He's got a lot of political power, maybe he should start changing the laws to make them more friendly towards werewolves and then start trying to improve ties." Harry suggested.

"As powerful as he is not even Dumbledore could force through legislation like that. The laws exist as they do because that is what most of the wizarding world wants, Harry. I know you don't care about a person's blood status or wealth or whether they are even considered 'fully human', but others do. Sadly, I don't think that is going to change in the near future."

"Then it sounds like Dumbledore is wasting his time." Harry answered his former professor. Remus nodded in agreement with Harry's assessment of the situation, but unlike Harry he knew how important his mission was. The werewolves would never oppose Voldemort if he returned, but if they were lucky he could convince them to remain neutral. It was the best they could hope for. Remus decided not to continue the discussion that could lead to Harry questioning why he was on that particular mission and luckily for him had a good excuse as they had reached their destination.

When they walked through the doors Harry was immediately impressed by the changes Professor Dumbledore had made to the once tiny classroom. It had been magically expanded to at least three times its original size and the desks and chairs which once filled the room had been shoved against the wall. The floor itself had a mild cushioning charm on it which would make falls a little more bearable but not hinder a person's ability to run. A ring of stronger cushioning charms had been erected around the room a few feet away from the walls. Apparently Professor Dumbledore had prepared the room for a fight.

"Ah, Harry! So glad you could make it." Professor Dumbledore said while motioning for him to come in. "I had thought that before you begin your normal routine you might enjoy a little challenge, assuming you agree as well Remus." Remus smirked as the old man explained. He had not known exactly what the Headmaster was planning, but this was an interesting surprise. He had been told Harry was rapidly improving as he prepared for the tournament but wondered how well the student would do against his former teacher.

"Sure, Professor." Harry answered. He understood what Dumbledore was proposing before Dumbledore had to explain it. He was going to have to duel Moony. "What are the rules?"

"Just try not to cast anything too dangerous, Harry." Remus answered with a smile, not believing that Harry could do him any real damage. No one had told him exactly how well Harry had done in his duel against Barty Crouch Junior and so he was prepared to face a merely above average fourth year, not an exceptional one.

"I do have one request though." Professor Dumbledore announced, drawing Harry's attention back to him. Dumbledore held what looked like a black leather belt with a variety of runes on it in his hand and presented it to Harry. "Wear this for tonight. It will monitor your health and strength, both physical and magical. Hopefully it will help us to determine if any harm is being done to you." Harry nodded and put the belt on, relieved to note that he felt no different with it on than he did with it off.

"Are you ready, Moony?" Harry asked as he moved to the center of the room. He felt confident in his ability to put up a good fight, if not win outright. He had seen the obvious signs that his former professor was underestimating him and planned on taking advantage of that. Perhaps he would start out casting simple spells verbally and let the older man think he was going to win easily, then he would spring the trap. Harry smiled, it was a good plan.

"Of course, Harry. Just do your best." Remus answered. He failed to notice the grin this response prompted in his opponent however. The two competitors faced each other and saluted in the traditional manner. They were standing approximately twenty feet away from each other and the room was clear of all obstructions. There would be no hiding under tables in this duel.

"Begin." Professor Dumbledore said loudly from his spot on the other side of the room where he could observe the duel.

Remus stood still, waiting for Harry to cast the first spell so he could observe his technique. Harry's first spell was a moderately powerful "Expelliarmus!" that had been almost shouted out, giving Remus plenty of time to step out of the way. Remus sent back a "Stupefy" which he cast verbally, just loud enough for Harry to hear. Harry dove out of the way of the spell dramatically before jumping to his feet and sending another disarming spell at his opponent which was easily shielded against.

Meanwhile Dumbledore watched with a growing smile, suspecting he knew how this duel would end.

Soon Remus had Harry on the run, casting a series of minor charms and hexes that Harry did not even try to shield against but instead tried to avoid. Not a single one of his spells had hit Harry yet and he was forced to admit that his opponent had exceptional speed and reflexes. Deciding to end the duel, Remus started trying to force Harry into a corner. Harry saw what Remus was attempting and let him do it, knowing that his opponent was on the verge of being convinced that the duel was over. Finally Harry found himself in a position where he could no longer avoid his opponent's spell, he must either let it hit him or shield against it. Harry smiled and knew it was time to show Remus what he was really capable of.

'Protego!' Harry thought and an impressive blue shield formed in front of him, much to the surprise of his former professor. He then, using the spell linking technique that Professor Flitwick had told him about, began a chain of spells that he had been working on for the past week or so. It began with an Auguamenti aimed at Remus's feet, soaking his shoes and pants. The spell confused Remus so he ignored it and tried to avoid the next spell that Harry had immediately cast, an Impedementia which was designed to trip him up. That did not hit him and Remus was able to shield against the Incarcerous which followed it. By now Remus was beginning to realize he had been fooled but there was little he could do to take back the advantage. Harry was now on the move as he cast, ready to dodge anything that was sent his way but Remus had to keep his shield up to protect himself. The fact that Harry was now casting silently only made things more difficult. Remus, unfortunately for him, had his shield aimed too high to prevent Harry's next spell from hitting him. It was a freezing charm and Remus groaned as he now saw the purpose of the water summoning charm that Harry had cast previously. His shoes and the bottom of his pants were now frozen solid, making movement very difficult.

Harry's chain of spells ended with a cutting curse aimed at Remus' chest. Instead of moving, however, the older man said "Avis" and summoned a dozen birds to stand in the way of Harry's curse. When the spell hit it destroyed two of the conjured birds while the rest flew around Remus as if trying to form a shield. Harry reacted quickly to the spell and cast a wide 'Incendio' which lit all of the remaining birds on fire. He then banished the flaming and panicking creatures back at his opponent who was forced to vanish them. Unfortunately for him the distraction from the birds and the moment it took to get rid of them was all Harry needed to move across the room and fire a stunner from an angle that Remus was not expecting and was not able to block.

When Remus next opened his eyes he was laying flat on the ground staring up at Harry, who had a wide grin on his face. He groaned in frustration, realizing he had been beaten. His humbling at his former students hands was completed when he heard Dumbledore clapping.

"Very well done, Harry. I must say that your reaction to Remus's bird summoning charm was quite unexpected." Professor Dumbledore said as Harry helped Remus to his feet.

"I agree, Harry." Remus added. "I was a fool not to see that you were tricking me into underestimating you. Perhaps next time you won't be so lucky."

"So do you want to go again?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Not tonight, I think I've suffered all of the embarrassment I can for one night." Remus said with a small chuckle. "You should try dueling Sirius, he was always far better than me anyway. I am sure he has lots he could teach you." Harry smiled and nodded at the suggestion, he was planning on suggesting just that to his godfather if they were able to find a way around the restrictions on underage magic.

"Might I offer a suggestion, Harry?" Dumbledore asked softly. "Perhaps you could practice conjuration for the rest of the night. It is one of the more draining branches of magic, especially when attempting permanent conjuration, and I think it might also allow me some insight into how far you have come in these past few months."

"That would be fine with me, Professor." Harry answered. "What should I start with?"

"The easiest items to conjure are inanimate objects, especially if they are constructed of a single material. Greater complexity requires greater strength. Tell me, have you attempted permanent conjuration before?"

"No, sir. I've mostly been focusing on things that would help me in the tournament and I just didn't see how that would help. I've read up on it some though." Harry answered, a little ashamed of himself for overlooking such an important branch of magic.

"No harm there, Harry." Professor Dumbledore assured him. "This is magic at a level beyond even the NEWTs. Temporary conjuration is sufficient for most circumstances, such as during your duel when Remus conjured the birds for use as a shield. A very effective tactic, I might add, considering that even the Unforgivables would be stopped if they struck one of the birds. Also, many witches and wizards are not capable of permanent conjuration unless the object being conjured is very simple and very small. For our first test I would recommend a small item made of a single material. Perhaps a metal spoon? Remember that some materials are harder to conjure than others, such as silver or bronze. And it is impossible to conjure gold without help from the Philosopher's Stone. Do you need any help with the procedure?"

"I don't think so, sir." Harry answered. "The incantation is 'Conjurus Aeternus' and if you don't have a clear enough picture of what you are trying to conjure or enough energy to conjure it the spell simply won't work. Nothing happens."

"Very good. Proceed whenever you are ready." Professor Dumbledore and Remus watched, each wondering what Harry would be capable of doing at this point in his development.

Harry nodded and closed his eyes, trying to focus on the item he was attempting to conjure. In his mind he pictured a spoon of the same design as the ones that were used at Hogwarts. He concentrated on its shape and the decorative pattern on the handle. He tried to keep in mind that he wanted it to be made of steel, which he knew would be easier than silver or bronze. Finally confident he had prepared himself, Harry opened his eyes and pointed his wand at the table where he wanted the conjured spoon to appear. Then he performed the simple wand movement and spoke "Conjurus Aeternus." Briefly he felt a small strain as his body gathered the required energy to complete the spell, but that soon passed and after a small flash of light his conjured spoon appeared.

The spoon was shaped just as it should be, right down to the intricate design on the handle he had worried about getting right. The steel it was made of was also perfectly formed with no blemished visible. There was only one slight problem. While the spoons used at Hogwarts were about six inches long, Harry's conjured spoon was closer to two and a half feet long making it look more like a small shovel than a spoon.

"My spoon is too big." Harry commented with a little bit of disappointment. Meanwhile Professor Dumbledore and Remus were laughing at the mistake.

"Well done, Harry." Dumbledore said. "Though next time you might want to spend a little more time focusing on how big you wish the object to be." Harry shrugged and agreed with the Professor. He was determined to get it right, although this time he felt he was up to a little more of a challenge. Once again he concentrated on the spoon, this time remembering to note that he wanted it to be the same size as a normal spoon, and recast the spell. After another small tug on his magic and a flash of light another spoon appeared in front of them. Unlike the previous one this spoon was perfectly sized and made of bronze instead of steel. Harry rushed over to the spoon and picked it up so he could inspect it. When he was satisfied he passed it to Professor Dumbledore who did the same.

"Excellent!" he finally commented. "The use of bronze is quite impressive, Harry. I do believe you are ready to move to the next level, which is more complex inanimate objects. Something made from several different materials and perhaps a little bigger."

"Ok, Professor." Harry answered and started thinking of what to conjure next. After a moment he finally decided on an object he thought Professor Dumbledore might appreciate and began preparing to cast the spell. Once he was ready he spoke the incantation and was pleased to see the object he had been thinking about appear in front of him.

"Splendid!" laughed Professor Dumbledore as he rushed over to inspect the item Harry had conjured. It was a perfect replica of the chair he sat in while in the Great Hall, although in this case the gold features had been replaced with bronze. Other than that every aspect of the chair appeared to be the same. Dumbledore sat in the chair and commented "Quite comfortable as well." while Harry smiled at his accomplishment. He was breathing a little heavier now than he had before, the spell had taken quite a bit out of him. Remus came over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. When Harry turned his head towards his former professor he saw the older man looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine, Moony. That was just harder than I expected." Harry answered.

"That is no surprise." Dumbledore answered from his new chair, which he showed no intention of leaving. "There is a significant amount of bronze in this chair which as I noted earlier was a very difficult material to conjure." In truth, Dumbledore was very impressed that Harry was able to do it at all. But on the other hand he was becoming accustomed to being surprised by the young man. "When you are ready to continue I suggest we move on to the next step in permanent conjuration which is inanimate objects with small moving parts. Perhaps a watch or a clock."

"But I don't really know how one of those works." Harry said uncertainly.

"Very true, but the magic does. The reason this kind of conjuration is more difficult is that you will be using more magic to make up for your lack of knowledge on how the item actually works. Now if you were a watchmaker then this task would be quite simple because you already knew what the parts are and how they are arranged, resulting in less magic being needed to compensate. This is one of the most important rules of conjuration and one of the things that differentiates temporary and permanent conjuration, and also why permanently conjuring living beings is so difficult that very few have ever been able to do it. Few wizards have either the knowledge or the magical power required to do even what you are attempting, but I am confident you will be able to."

"I''ll try my best." Harry replied, hoping he would be able to manage it. He thought for a moment and remembered the old grandfather clock that his Aunt Petunia liked to claim was a priceless family heirloom. It was kept not far from his cupboard under the stairs and over the years he had grown to like its hourly chimes. He was never allowed to touch it unless he was cleaning it, but he had still spent many hours looking at it and wondering how it worked. It's details were easy for him to recall, and a few moments later he felt ready to cast the spell.

"Conjurus Aeternus." Harry softly said. As he did he could feel his already tired magic struggling with the spell. He knew that after this he was going to be close reaching his exhaustion point. The strain was so intense that it was almost painful, but in the back of his mind Harry knew that if he poured all of his strength into it he would be able to finish it. With one final push of magical energy Harry was rewarded with a bright flash signaling that his efforts had been successful. Standing in the center of the room where there was once nothing was a beautiful replica of the clock that was currently sitting in the Dursley's living room. Harry smiled at his accomplishment and then promptly fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"Harry!" Remus shouted as he rushed over to check on him. "Do you feel ok?" Harry weakly gave him a thumbs up in response, not really wanting to expend any more energy than that.

"Let him rest for a moment." Professor Dumbledore advised. "I believe that will be all for tonight." Harry gave a small nod and shifted to sit down on the floor while Remus walked over to talk to Professor Dumbledore.

"What were you thinking asking him to do that?" Remus said softly but forcefully, hoping Harry wouldn't overhear their conversation.

"I am as surprised as you that he was able to do it. Perhaps he has a better understanding of how such devices are constructed than he indicated." Dumbledore replied with a small frown. "I have come to expect great things from Harry and yet he is still able to surprise me. Trust me, Remus. I care for him just as you and Sirius do."

Harry was looking away during their conversation but was still able to hear it. He wondered what it meant that he was able to do something a little more difficult than Dumbledore thought he could. Perhaps he was merely improving faster than he thought. He sighed and decided to think about later when he didn't feel like he was a moment away from falling asleep.

"I think I'll head to the infirmary now if that's ok with you." Harry said as he tried to stifle a yawn.

"A fine idea." Dumbledore replied. "I will come speak with you in the morning to discuss what we have learned. I believe Remus would be willing to accompany you?" Remus nodded and walked over to Harry. With a little bit of effort Harry was able to make it to his feet.

"I'll get him there safely, Professor." Remus answered the Headmaster.

"In that case I shall bid you good night, Harry. Could you stop by my office when you are finished, Remus? I have something I would like to discuss with you." Dumbledore asked. Remus nodded in response and they all left the room. The trip to the infirmary was short but still Harry was almost asleep as soon as he hit the hospital bed.

"Night, Moony." Harry said quietly.

"Good night, Harry." Remus answered with a smile on his face. 'It really isn't fair that Sirius can't be here for this,' the werewolf thought. 'Perhaps that will change one day.' After transfiguring Harry's clothes into something more appropriate for sleeping in Remus left and headed towards Dumbledore's office leaving Madam Pomfrey to begin checking on her new patient.

* * *

Author's Note:

You guys have been giving me some really insightful reviews and I hope you keep it up. I love to hear what you like and dislike about the story so far. Thanks again.

Kudos to any of you that catch the Don Hertzfeldt reference, if not don't worry about it. Or go watch "Rejected", which I recommend anyway.


	17. Chapter 17

Harry awoke to the sounds of Madam Pomfrey going through her morning routine. He closed his eyes and pulled the sheets back over himself in the hopes that he could get a few minutes more sleep but Madam Pomfrey must have noticed he was awake and took the opportunity to stand over his bed and begin casting a few diagnostic charms.

"You can stop pretending, Mr Potter. I know you are awake." the school nurse said.

"Ten more minutes." Harry requested, drawing a laugh out of Pomfrey.

"I'll call for one of the house elves to bring you breakfast." she said and walked away to continue preparing for the day. Harry opened his eyes and looked through a window on the other side of the room to see that the sun must have risen an hour or more before he woke up. Sighing, he decided it probably was time for him to get out of bed. He was preparing to do just that when Dobby appeared in front of him holding a huge serving platter that held at least a dozen plates. Each plate was stacked with what appeared to be every type of breakfast food Harry had ever seen offered at Hogwarts.

"Dobby! What are you doing with all that food?" Harry asked as the little elf struggled to balance all of the plates he was carrying. To Harry's relief he was able to set them down on a nearby table without dropping a single one.

"I is bring it for you Harry Potter sir!" Dobby said proudly. "Dobby heard you would be needing your breakfast brought to you and I told the other elves that nobody but me would do it. Some of the kitchen elves didn't like that, but Dobby insisted."

"You did great Dobby, though I think you might have brought too much food. How about you stay and have breakfast with me?" Harry asked. Dobby immediately started crying and leapt at Harry to give him a hug. Harry was briefly surprised with the house elf's speed and behavior, but then again it was typical of Dobby.

"Harry Potter is too kind! He is being the greatest wizard ever!" Dobby said between sobs. Harry hugged the elf back and hoped he would settle down a bit.

"So how about it? Going to stay and have breakfast with me?" Harry asked. Dobby immediately lowered his head as if ashamed of himself.

"Dobby can't. I promised a kitchen elf I would do his work and mine so I could bring Harry Potter his breakfast. Dobby is sorry."

"It's ok, Dobby. We can do it some other time, alright? You're my friend, don't feel like you need an excuse to come talk to me." Harry said. Dobby nodded and gave Harry another big hug before popping off to get back to work. Harry smiled as he thought about his strangely devoted little friend and began looking over the plates trying to decide what he wanted. Even though he was quite hungry, as was normal after one of his training sessions, he knew there was still no way he was ever going to be able to finish even half of what Dobby had brought.

"Harry!" a familiar female voice called from the doorway. Harry turned to see his friend Hermione walking in. He wasn't really surprised that Hermione had gotten here before Daphne because his girlfriend had told him she would come by at eight o'clock to check on him and she was almost always right on time. He had not seen a clock yet this morning so he knew it must still be before eight. "You don't really plan on eating all of that, do you?"

"I could probably be persuaded to share if you're hungry." Harry replied. Hermione smiled and grabbed a bowl of fruit off of the tray before walking over to Harry's bed and sitting in a nearby chair.

"So what happened?" she asked eagerly.

"I haven't heard anything from Professor Dumbledore this morning." Harry answered. "I guess he will be here sometime soon. Last night he had me duel Moony and then work on permanent conjuration."

"Moony? You mean Professor Lupin right?" Hermione asked as Harry nodded in response. "Did you really perform permanent conjuration? Most people can't do that at all."

"Yeah, I did. It was pretty tiring, but I think that was mainly because of all the bronze I was conjuring" Harry responded. Upon hearing this Hermione's eyes opened wide in shock and she gasped.

"You're not joking, are you?" Hermione asked, still surprised by Harry's statement. "Harry, there are probably only a couple dozen wizards or witches alive that can conjure bronze or silver. Very little research has been done on permanent conjuration because the ability to master it is so rare. In fact the last in depth study was completed over two hundred years ago. You might think this is silly, but I was really hoping I would be able to do it so that in a few years I could begin experimenting and write the definitive work on the subject. Nobody seems to have thought to use muggle chemistry to investigate permanent conjuration."

"Wow, Hermione. That seems like a pretty lofty goal." Harry said.

"I know." Hermione said proudly. "I had hoped it would force the wizarding world to reconsider their opinions on muggleborns as well. You know what this means though, don't you Harry?"

"What?" he asked uncertainly. He could tell when his friend was up to something, and she definitely was now.

"I don't have to wait to start experimenting! Congratulations Harry, you've just volunteered to be my research assistant." Hermione looked as excited as a little kid at Christmas time and Harry knew he would have no choice but to offer her his assisstance. She would never leave him alone if he didn't.

"Fine." Harry grumbled, "I will help, but you are going to have to remember that we can't spend every hour of the day working on this. I know how obsessed you get."

"I do not get obsessed!" Hermione said defensively, "I just think that academics and research are more important than you do." Harry shrugged at her response, knowing full well that no one could ever change Hermione's study habits. He wondered how much time she would be wanting to spend on this new project and hoped that since she didn't think she would be able to start it for another few years she wouldn't have too much thought out yet. Hermione began tapping her foot anxiously, a sign that Harry knew meant she was eager to get out of the infirmary and start working. Harry could not help but laugh at his friend's behavior even when his laughter was met with her annoyed glare. Their silent argument was interrupted when Harry noticed Daphne walking in to the room.

"Daphne!" he called as she walked towards him. Harry jumped up from the hospital bed he had been sitting on to give his girlfriend a kiss before leading her back over to where he had been talking with Hermione.

"Are you ok?" Daphne asked, the concern clearly evident in her voice.

"I'm fine, just waiting for Dumbledore." Harry answered.

"I do not believe you will have to wait for much longer." a voice called from the infirmary's entrance. The three teens turned to see Professor Dumbledore smiling back at them. "I hope you had a pleasant stay, Harry. I believe you have been one of Madam Pomfrey's more frequent guests."

"No problems, Professor. Although I would like to get out of here as soon as possible." Harry answered.

"An understandable goal." Dumbledore said with a nod. "I have some results from our observation last night, and to be honest I have never seen anything like it. First off let me ease any fears you may have had and assure you that there appears to be no lasting damage done to either your body or your magic from your brief episode of magical exhaustion."

"So I can keep training?" Harry asked eagerly.

"There does not seem to be any reason for you not to." Dumbledore admitted. "However I would ask you to wear the monitoring belt the next few times so we can perhaps gain a better understanding of what is happening. You see Harry you are now approximately one percent stronger than you were at this time yesterday, a result I was not expecting."

"One percent? That doesn't sound like much." Harry said.

"You're wrong, Harry." Daphne interrupted. "That shouldn't be possible."

"Ms Greengrass is correct, Harry." Dumbledore confirmed. "And there is reason to believe that you have been improving at a similar rate every time you have pushed yourself to the point of magical exhaustion. Think of it this way Harry, if you were to the rate of your improvement is constant that would mean you could double your magical power in just over three months. In a year you could nearly quadruple it. However I wish to further observe you to determine if the gains in strength you are receiving are in fact constant or if they are slowing down."

"You forgot to mention the third possibility, Professor." Hermione said softly. "The increases could be accelerating."

"But why is this happening?" Harry asked.

"I have wondered that myself for a long time now." Dumbledore answered. "I have come to the conclusion that it is an unexpected result of what happened to you the night Voldemort tried to kill you. Previously I told you that I believed it was your mother's love that protected you from Voldemort's killing curse, and I still believe that. However, simply loving another is not enough to grant that kind of protection. Your mother was a very talented which with a thirst for knowledge that would even rival Ms Granger's, and it is my belief that she either found or created a ritual that would use her sacrifice to protect you."

"So you don't really know what she did." Harry said

"No, sadly I do not. There is therefore no way to know what side effects this ritual may have had." Dumbledore responded. "That is not the end of it however. I suspect that Voldemort was attempting to use your death as a part of a very dark ritual."

"Which ritual?" Daphne asked. The Greengrasses had an extensive library full information, including some on dark rituals, and even if she had not heard of the ritual she thought there was a good chance she could find it there.

"Perhaps when you are older I will explain more fully." Dumbledore answered. His response did not please any of the people listening to him. "What Voldemort was not expecting was for his killing curse to be reflected back at him, although since your are the only known person to survive it perhaps we should not be surprised at his mistake. There is also no way to know what the effects of surviving the killing curse are. Finally, you were used in one more ritual that night."

"What?" Harry asked in surprise. "Who did it?"

"I did, Harry." Dumbledore replied. "In order to ensure your safety I created strong protections around your Aunt's home using Lily's sacrifice as their base. It was a confusing time and I admit I was not certain my plan would work, but the wards now surrounding your home are stronger than any I could have ever created on my own. However I must tell you that it is possible my actions could have had unintended consequences."

"So what do you think did it?" Hermione asked as she tried to piece together the puzzle.

"It could have been any one of them, or all of them working together perhaps. What I can say is that it was a series of events that completely unique and I do not expect anyone to ever be able to replicate." Dumbledore said. "I must ask you to keep this information to yourselves, I would not want it to get back to Voldemort lest he try to recreate it. I had considered only telling Harry, however I knew it would quickly be told to the two of you and thought I would save him the trouble of repeating it."

"What now, Professor?" Harry asked. Dumbledore's explanation had left him confused and worried about what had been done to him and what it meant for the future.

"Continue as you were. It appears you have been given a gift, Harry. Take advantage of it." Dumbledore instructed. "You have the potential to be a powerful force for good in our world, try not to let that opportunity pass you by. Now I suppose you are eager to leave and I will not take up any more of your time. Have a good day, to all of you." With that the Headmaster left the room, leaving the three students alone. Each of them was thinking about what they had learned. None of them were very happy with how little actual information they had been given. Hermione saw it as a puzzle to be solved and knew that she was missing a lot of the pieces. Daphne wondered about the ritual that Professor Dumbledore had refused to name. The number of rituals that required a human sacrifice had to be small, didn it?

Harry, meanwhile, was trying to come to terms with the news Dumbledore had given him regarding his own special brand of training. It meant he could rapidly improve. It meant that perhaps one day he would be able to match Voldemort's power. It meant that he could protect his friends and loved ones. Most of all, it meant that he might actually survive the upcoming war. Harry had never really feared for his life, but still he knew that it was constantly at risk and that trend showed no signs of ending. Now that he knew his training wasn't hurting him he swore to himself that he would push himself as far as he could go.

"Harry, I'm going to go. We'll talk later about our project ok?" Hermione said as she stood up. Dumbledore's talk had not dulled her desire to head to the library and work on her own ideas. Harry nodded and waved good-bye leaving Harry and Daphne alone in the room.

"Let's take a walk." Harry suggested. "I'm sick of this room." Daphne grinned and took his hand as they walked out the door. Harry led them outside, away from anyone who could be trying to listen to the conversation. A quick check of the Marauder's Map confirmed that Rita Skeeter wasn't in the area either.

"Well, what do you think?" Harry finally asked. Daphne paused to consider her response.

"No one can know about this, Harry." his girlfriend answered. "Don't tell anyone else unless it is a life or death situation. Not even your godfather."

"Don't you think that is just a bit paranoid?" Harry asked.

"No. Think of what could happen if someone found out. At best you would spend the rest of your life having tests run on you to find out why you're different." Daphne replied. "And this means that one day you could be one of the most powerful wizards alive, meaning that if anybody wants you dead they should come after you as soon as possible. This is just too important to tell anyone else."

"I see your point, but I still think I should tell Sirius. He can help me with this, I know he can."

"Just wait until you see him, ok? The mail isn't always trustworthy." she said. Harry knew she was right on this, but hiding the information from those closest to him still went against his natural instincts. "I don't trust Dumbledore, either. He's hiding something."

"He always is." Harry answered. "Lots of strange people are constantly coming in and out of the castle to see him and he wouldn't tell me what Voldemort was trying to do the night he murdered my parents. Maybe he shouldn't be expected to spill all of his secrets to a student, but there are things that do affect me that he isn't telling me."

"According to my father that's just the way Dumbledore is. He doesn't seem to think anyone but himself needs to know all of what is going on. That's one of the reasons so many people refused to side with him in the last war. Something's happening, Harry. Something big, and we're not being let in on any of it."

"I get that feeling too." Harry admitted. "But what can we do about it? For the moment, nothing. So we trust Dumbledore to do what's best until we are in a better position and actually know what is happening."

"For the most part you're right." Daphne agreed with a sigh. "How about a less frustrating subject. Next week is a Hogsmeade weekend and you owe me one free of Dementors and Draco Malfoy."

"That's true." Harry said with a laugh. "I'm sure we can be attacked by something far more entertaining this time. How about a mountain troll?"

"You've already done that." Daphne answered, shaking her head. "You need something new and different. How do you feel about manticores?"

"No thanks. We could always just skip Hogsmeade and wonder around in the Forbidden Forest, I am sure that there are all kinds of dangerous things there that we haven't ever thought of." Harry said jokingly. Daphne laughed at his suggestion and soon Harry was laughing too. They spent the rest of the afternoon together in similar fashion, each enjoying the company of the other and trying to ignore the suspicion that soon things would be changing in ways they could not imagine. The fact that they spent the day away from the rest of the student body also ensured that it was not until later that night that they heard about the special edition of the Daily Prophet that was beginning to stir up a lot of controversy.

* * *

_**MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE: SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT! PETER PETTIGREW ALIVE!**_

_by Rita Skeeter_

The Ministry of Magic has been lying to all of us for almost fourteen years.

Some of you may have a hard time believing that, but the evidence is overwhelming. Following a tip from a source who wishes to remain anonymous I began investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the James and Lily Potter and the subsequent imprisonment of Sirius Black. At the time very little attention was paid to the matter as the wizarding world was caught up in the celebration of the defeat of You-Know-Who. Sadly, while we were not watching a great mistake was made.

At the time it was said that Sirius Black had become a Death Eater and betrayed his friends to the Dark Lord. Black, however, was examined upon his arrest and found to not have taken the Dark Mark. Despite this he was thrown into Azkaban without being given a trial and was held there until two years ago when he managed to become the first person to ever escape from the famous prison. Sirius Black was never given the chance to defend himself or plead his case, a fact that should shame the Ministry.

Still, that evidence is not enough to prove Mr Black's innocence. During my investigation an unexpected source came forward to offer information that has never been heard before which could rock the Ministry to its foundations. Our source was a Auror back in the fall of 1981 and was a part of the team that brought Sirius Black in. He was assigned as Mr Black's guard upon their arrival to the Ministry of Magic and stayed with him until he was left at Azkaban. It was then that he witnessed an event the Ministry has denied ever happened: the questioning of Sirius Black under the influence of Veritaserum. Present during this questioning were Sirius Black, his guard, and two others.

One was, at the time, the head of the Deparment of Magical Law Enforcement Bartemius Crouch Senior. The other was a Junior Minister from the Department of Magical Catastrophes who had been one of the first people on the scene when Black was arrested. He was also a strong supporter of former Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold and willing to do anything to protect her. That man's name was Cornelius Fudge.

After verifying that the Veritaserum was working Crouch began the interrogation. His first question was to ask if Sirius Black was a Death Eater. Black answered "No" to the surprise of all present. He was then asked if he had betrayed Lily and James Potter. Again he answered "No". Then Crouch asked if he had caused the explosion which resulted in the deaths of a dozen muggles. His answer was "No, Pettigrew did it." Stunned, Crouch stated that Peter Pettigrew was dead. Black responded to that by saying "No, Peter cut off his finger and escaped so that everyone would think he was dead."

What you must remember is that at this time it was already being reported that Sirius Black was a traitor and Peter Pettigrew was a hero. Minister Bagnold was being praised for the brilliant performance of her Aurors and her handling of the crisis. Black's admission would ruin all of that and do serious political harm to Bagnold, a fact which both Fudge and Crouch knew. Their jobs and political futures both depended on keeping Bagnold in office and so in a little room in the Ministry of Magic two men conspired to send an innocent man to Azkaban. They agreed that Black could never have a trial and that Minister Bagnold should not be informed of what they had learned. Black was then Obliviated by Crouch so that he would not have any memory of the interrogation. Fudge attempted to do the same to Black's guard, however the future Minister must not have been as good with memory charms as Crouch because his left the guard slightly confused but with his memories intact. Afterwards the guard, worried about his own future and the safety of his family, decided not to come forward with his tale. It is only now, after having left the Aurors, that he felt safe enough to tell the truth.

I have personally witnessed the interrogation through the use of a pensieve and have further received a Wizard's Oath that the story is true. I have no doubts that it is. My source is willing to be questioned by the Wizengamot to confirm his claims. Now is the time for action. Minister Fudge has declared that Sirius Black is to be immediately given the Dementor's Kiss upon capture. That decree must be withdrawn and then a full investigation concerning Minister Fudge's actions must be initiated. The good witches and wizards of Britain deserve better from their leaders, and Sirius Black deserves better from his government. He deserves to be reunited with his godson, Harry Potter.

FOR MORE ON SIRIUS BLACK, see page 6

FOR MORE ON MINISTER FUDGE, see page 10

* * *

Later that evening Harry sat in the Room of Requirement and read the article with a huge grin on his face. When he had impulsively decided to use Rita Skeeter to try and help Sirius he had never hoped that it would turn out this well. And as a bonus he might even get to bring down Fudge without his name being associated with it. He had gotten extremely lucky and he knew it.

"This is fantastic, Harry!" Hermione said from where she was seated and also reading the paper. Daphne meanwhile was snuggled up next to him so that they could both use the same paper. He felt her hug him a little tighter in agreement with Hermione's statement.

"What do you think will happen now?" Harry asked. He had a few guessed but was always eager to hear opinions from his friend and girlfriend. Although they came from very different backgrounds they were both very intelligent and wanted to help him, a fact he knew he could depend on if he needed to.

"If this is true then Fudge will be out of office by the start of summer." Daphne answered. "It might even be worth delaying our revenge on Skeeter if she is going to keep focusing on this story, which she will since it's good for her ego."

"What do you have planned for Skeeter anyway?" Hermione asked. Harry looked over at Daphne and wondered if she would answer. Even he didn't know what she had been thinking of doing.

"Nothing too bad, she might even come out of it alive and in one piece. Maybe." Daphne said with an evil grin. "It doesn't matter if we delay a bit, father still isn't finished with the potion he's been brewing for her. Don't ask Hermione, you really don't want to know." Hermione looked a little disappointed but wisely decided not to push for more information.

"Fudge is obviously going to fight this." Harry said, "But will the Daily Prophet stick by their reporter even if it means going against the Minister?"

"Yes." Daphne answered with a nod. "This is the best thing that could have happened for them. Their sales are going to see a huge increase because of the controversy, and that is what they are the most concerned with. They act like the ministry's spokesperson when it is a good business decision. It isn't anymore."

"Wherever he is, Sirius needs to be careful." Hermione added. "As long as he is in power Fudge is dangerous and still wants him to get the Dementor's Kiss. Especially since he will be blaming all of his troubles on Sirius now." Harry thought about it and decided she was probably right. He just hoped that Sirius realized that as well.

"How do you two feel about inviting Neville to join our practices?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence.

"Longbottom?" Daphne asked skeptically. "I don't know Harry, I'm still not convinced he can be much help."

"He still deserves the right to learn how to defend himself." Harry responded. Daphne sighed, knowing that Harry had already made up his mind on the subject.

"Fine. Bring him along." Daphne finally said. Harry smiled and kissed her in thanks. "But if he can't keep up he's your responsibility."

"That's ok with me." Harry said, happy that Daphne wasn't going to fight him on this. "I'll need you help too, Hermione. We'll need to figure out what Neville is good at beside Herbology and help him from there."

"I don't know why you think I could help with that, Harry." Hermione said sadly. "I still can't find anything I'm good at, at least Neville has Herbology."

"Don't say that Hermione. You have a lot of potential; I can sense it in you." Harry replied, hoping he could make his friend see reason. "You're good in everything to start with. It doesn't matter that you aren't a prodigy in all branches of magic. We've already figured out you are better with healing charms than me and Daphne. That's a good place to start isn't it?"

"I suppose so." Hermione said, still clearly disappointed with herself.

Harry and Daphne continued talking for a while, but Hermione barely listened. Soon after the couple said their goodbyes and left Hermione alone in the Room of Requirement. She felt weak and worried that when Neville came even he would surpass her. Her whole life she had always tried to be her best and that trait had lived on after discovering she was a witch. She had dedicated herself to learning all there was to know about magic, but now she was coming to the realization that it wasn't enough. In many ways she felt that she was still not good enough and she had no idea how to fix it. Their practicing would help but she did not believe she would ever be as powerful as Daphne, and knowing what she did now she knew there was no hope of ever catching Harry. The only answer she could think of to her problem lay in a few of the rituals that she had heard references to, but they were very dark and had awful consequences.

"I am not willing to go down that path!" she said out loud, even though she was alone. But inside, a quieter voice was asking 'Am I?'

Shaking her head in hopes to make the question go away, Hermione realized that even if she did want to look into rituals that could help her there was no way for her to learn about them. The books that described them were too dark to even be found in the restricted section of the library.

"It was a silly idea." she said with a nervous laugh. "You can't just wish for information like that." Her fake laughs were stopped when a table appeared in front of her with large book lying on it. The book was bound in a black material that resembled leather but with enough differences she knew it was something else. The book was obviously old and fragile, so when Hermione touched it she was careful not to harm it. When she opened the cover she saw that it was written in English but in a very old dialect that was difficult for her to understand. She wondered what it was when the answer suddenly came to her.

"I asked for this book, didn't I? And the Room of Requirement provided it." Hermione gasped. Inside this book, she knew, was information on rituals. Most of which would be very dark in nature. "No!" she yelled and walked towards the door trying to forget what she had found. But as she reached for the doorknob she stopped and turned to look back at the book. 'Surely it wouldn't hurt to just read the book.' she thought uncertainly. Minutes past as she stood, unmoving, and tried to decide what do. Finally, she took her hand off the door and walked back to the table. Carefully, she picked up the book and took it back to her chair and began to read.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'm curious what you guys think about how the Hermione situation is developing. I said previously that I thought Hermione would do almost anything for Harry, but just how far is she really willing to go? Please review and let me know if you like where I am taking this. Thanks.


	18. Chapter 18

In the days that followed the most popular topic for conversation in the wizarding world was Rita Skeeter's article and the accusations it contained. Minister Fudge immediately called a press conference to deny everything, but the suspicions remained. It did not help his cause that the Daily Prophet, which had seen its sales soar after Skeeter's initial article, refused to back down from their position. Rumors circulated concerning the identity of the unnamed Auror who had agreed to testify against Minister Fudge, but all the paper would say of him was that he was currently living at a safe house under powerful wards for his own protection.

Fudge's political enemies saw his weakened position and took advantage of it by calling for the Minister to resign. Fudge, of course, refused and insisted that he was innocent. When it was clear that Minister Fudge was not going to leave his post willingly, his rivals then began demanding that he be brought before the Wizengamot and forced to answer their questions. Fudge tried to fight this request as well but it soon became clear he would eventually have to face the Wizengamot. The only tactic he had left at that point was to stall by saying that he needed time to prepare his defense. Reluctantly, his enemies agreed to give him some time and negotiations began to determine when the hearing would be held. After a few days Fudge and his aides suggested that June 24 would be the earliest they could be ready. They hoped that no one would realize that June 24 was also the day that the third task of the Triwizard Tournament was to be held, an event that would surely draw attention away from the hearing. Unfortunately for Fudge, his rivals realized what he was trying to do and decided that the best day for them would be June 25. Fudge had little choice but to bitterly accept this date.

And so the date was agreed upon. The general mood of the public was that it would be Fudge's last day in office. With that in mind several people began to campaign to be the next Minister of Magic. Current head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones gained a lot of support when she went against Minister Fudge's demands and struck down the decree that Sirius Black should immediately receive the Dementor's Kiss upon capture. Minister Fudge's furious reaction to her disobedience did not help him win any supporters. A plethora of other names were also suggested, although with a few months left none had really become a favorite to win the position if it did become available.

Harry, meanwhile, could not have been happier with how things had developed. Not only did it mean that Sirius could finally receive justice but it gave the Daily Prophet something else to spend its time on and there was a good chance that Minister Fudge, whom he did not like, would soon be replaced. He could not help but laugh when he realized that none of it would be possible if he had not tricked Rita Skeeter into doing what he wanted her to do. 'That wasn't very Gryffindor of me, was it?' he thought with a grin.

* * *

Days later Hermione sat alone in the Room of Requirement reading the book she had found. Due to its age and condition she did not dare move it in fears that it would be destroyed. She had the strong feeling that this book had been the result of a lifetime of work by its author and was truly one of a kind. She had never heard of it before and upon further searching could find no references to it anywhere else. Hermione wondered how long it had been sitting in the Room of Requirement apparently forgotten to all and who had been the last to read it. Perhaps it had been here since the four founders built the castle, she did not know.

Slowly she had become more accustomed to reading the ancient text and could now understand what was being said in almost all instances. What she found was that, unlike the Ministry of Magic, the author did not consider all rituals dark or evil in nature. What they had in common was some benefit being provided as a result of a sacrifice. Sacrifice, she realized, was the one thing that all rituals had in common. That did not mean, however, that an animal or person had to die for all of the sacrifices (although that was the case in many of them). Sometimes the sacrifice required was a prized possession or even a body part. She had been excited to find a ritual that would increase a witch's intelligence until she found that it would require sacrificing her virginity to a goblin under a full moon. She quickly decided that she was not interested in that one. Hermione found it all quite fascinating and found herself questioning the Ministry's stance that all rituals were dark. Not all of them included harming others or would affect a person's morals or sanity, so why lump them all together?

The book ended with notes on a ritual that she surprisingly recognized: The Ritual of Heron. However in modern times it had become known as the Riddle of Heron. It was famous because no one knew what it was or how to do it and yet every century or so a new wizard would claim to have figured it out, only to be disappointed when his ideas didn't work. Over two thousand years ago the ritual's creator had left a series of cryptic notes that had long since fascinated those who read them. The intriguing part of this book was that the author insisted to that he had found notes on the ritual from the creator that others had overlooked. Using this he pieced together much more of the instructions than anyone else ever had (assuming his notes were real of course). The author, however, had eventually reached a point from which he could go no further.

Hermione had always loved both riddles and challenge and began closely studying the author's work on the subject. She found herself agreeing with his conclusions on the hints left by the creator. The ritual would need nine different materials and nine different runes, not the seven or eight of each that modern wizards thought necessary. The book's author was convinced he had determined which nine runes would be needed but he could not figure out which nine materials were necessary. Hermione was very interested to find that the hints tied in with her research on permanent conjuration when she read that one of the materials could not be conjured and the eight others could only be done so with great difficulty. The author believed that four of the nine materials were gold, silver, bronze, and copper while he suspected that one of the others was a liquid of some kind.

Hermione suspected she could narrow down the search for the five missing materials through her research, although she had no plans on actually going through with the ritual. It was much too dangerous, after all no one knew what it did or what sacrifice it would require. Besides, she told herself, she was only working on it to satisfy her curiosity. There was no way she was going to attempt any of the rituals, even the ones she didn't consider dark. A ritual that was done incorrectly could have horrible consequences and so it was far too risky.

"This is nothing more than an intellectual exercise." she reassured herself as she reached for a roll of parchment to begin her own notes. "Nothing more."

* * *

Harry was in Transfigurations class and had just finished turning a mouse into a kitten when a younger student came into the room carrying a note which he gave to Professor McGonagall. After thanking him and sending him on his way McGonagall read the note.

"Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall said when she was done. "After class your presence is required at the Quidditch fields." Harry nodded and looked back at his work, but his concentration had been broken. He wondered what it could be about although he suspected it had something to do with the Triwizard Tournament. Interrupting his day to break some kind of news to him seemed to be exactly their style. The rest of the class passed slowly but eventually it came to an end. When it did he told his friends good-bye with promised to tell them what was going on and headed out to the Quidditch field.

On the way Harry remembered what he had seen the last time he had been to the fields: they were completely torn up. At the time he didn't think it had anything to do with the Triwizard Tournament but now he was beginning to suspect it did. He had not been back since that day, the sight of the ruined fields was just too depressing for him. Now however a magical barrier had been constructed above the fields that prevented him from seeing what they now looked like.

Once outside Harry saw a group of people standing around talking. The group included all of the other Triwizard Champions, their headmasters (except Karkaroff of course), and Ludo Bagman. Viktor Krum was even there, a surprising fact considering he had returned to Durmstrang after Igor Karkaroff's disappearance. Harry was the last to arrive and apparently the others had been waiting on him.

"Harry! Great to see you again." Bagman said once he saw Harry approaching. Harry did not particularly feel like being nice to the annoying man and said nothing, though Bagman did not seem to notice anything out of the ordinary with Harry's response. "Looks like we're all here then doesn't it?"

"Get on with it, Bagman." Madam Maxine said in her heavy French accent. Harry couldn't help but chuckle at her attitude towards Bagman.

"Very well." Bagman replied with a small frown. "There will be no clues for the third task, instead I will show you." Bagman motioned to one of his assistants who banished the magical barrier with a wave of his wand. As it fell Harry saw that huge bushes had been planted on the Quidditch fields. They were at least twenty feet tall and so thick that it would be impossible to walk through them. It appeared that the bushs had been used to create an enormous wall, although there was a small gap where you could get past it.

"You are looking at the entrance to a great maze." Bagman informed them. "Inside you will face a number of challenges including moving walls, beasts of all kinds, puzzles that must be solved. It will take a combination of intelligence and strength to make it through the maze to the end. Your goal will be the Triwizard Cup and the winner will be the first one to grab it."

None of the champions spoke following Bagman's statement, though they all looked deep in thought. Harry doubted he could get close enough to the Triwizard Cup to cast the tracking spell, and the fact that walls would move made any map he might make irrelevant. It seemed like he was going to have to rely on his own strength rather than elaborate preparations to win the tournament, a fact that might have made him nervous earlier in the year but he was quite satisfied with now.

"When you enter the maze will depend on how you have done in the tournament so far." Bagman continued. "Meaning that you, Mr Potter, will enter first." Bagman smiled at him as Harry nodded. Bagman seemed to have some unexplainable interest in him and how he did in the tournament, but Harry didn't think he had any malicious intent. "Well then, I will see you all on June 24. Good luck to you." Bagman walked away from the champions and began talking to Dumbledore who was slightly more polite than Madam Maxine.

"Harry, vere is Hermione?" Krum asked. Harry was quite impressed that Krum had learned to correctly pronounce his friend's name. "I vould like to see her before I leave."

"She was going to lunch, so she should be in the Great Hall." Harry told him.

"Thank you." he replied and quickly walked away. Harry smiled at Krum's eagerness to see Hermione, although he wondered if Hermione was as eager to see Krum as he was to see her. He thought she liked the Bulgarian, but perhaps not as much as he liked her. The fact that he lived in another country probably didn't help. His thoughts on Hermione's love life were interrupted when his fellow Hogwarts champion came up to talk to him.

"Hey there Harry." Cedric said. "What do you think about the maze?"

"Sounds interesting." Harry answered as they began their walk back to Hogwarts. "I'm glad that the winner won't be picked by a bunch of judges scoring our performance though."

"That is probably for the best." Cedric agreed. "You know you're lucky you aren't a seventh year. Trying to study for my NEWTs and this is killing me."

"I haven't even taken the OWLs yet, don't try and make me worry about the NEWTs too." Harry said with a laugh. "So what are you going to do to get ready for the last task?"

"I can't think of anything that would really help." Cedric answered honestly. "But I might have a great idea on how to beat the maze and am just saying that to throw you off."

"Sure you do." Harry replied skeptically. "I feel the same way." Cedric laughed as they reached the main entrance to the castle.

"Good luck, Harry" Cedric said as a good-bye and then walked off towards the part of the castle where Harry knew the Hufflepuff dorms were. Harry waved and began walking in the other direction. Suddenly the idea that he only had one more thing to do in the tournament before it was over struck him and Harry found himself quite happy with that. He was having fun in it so far and it had been good for him but he still hated how he was forced into it. Harry wondered if he would miss the tournament when it was over, but he doubted he would. Even if he won the tournament he knew "Winner of the Triwizard Tournament" would never be what people remembered him for. He still had to wait almost two months for the next task, he realized, so even though there was only one more it be a while before it was finished.

'I better start getting ready for it, I guess.' Harry thought as his mind drifted towards what he had planned for later in the day. If it went as he planned he would have three people instead of two training with him. Now he just had to find Neville...

* * *

"Wow Harry! What is this place?" Neville asked as Harry led him into the Room of Requirement later that day. It was currently set up to have one half resemble the Gryffindor common room and the other half to be a large training area. Hermione and Daphne were in the training area casting spells at a moving target when the two boys walked in. They both stopped what they were doing and waved as Harry led Neville over to the common room to explain what was going on.

"Neville, I'd like you to start training with us." Harry said. "We think this is going to be important soon."

"Why?" Neville asked curiously. He had noticed that Harry had been doing much better in school this year, although he just assumed it was because he was studying so hard for the Triwizard Tournament. The idea that it was for something else and that he would be a part of it had never crossed his mind.

"Sit down and I'll explain. It's a bit of a long story." Harry replied as he motioned for Neville to take a seat. For the next hour Harry told Neville everything that he thought the other boy needed to know. Harry began with retelling his adventures of the previous years. Neville knew most of what had happened and could guess at much of what he didn't know, but it was still nice to hear the story from the source. Harry then began to explain the events of this year and their suspicions that Voldemort would one day return and restart the war that everyone thought had ended so long ago.

"Blimey, Harry. You really think that's going to happen?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, I do. I wish I could say no but Voldemort's never going to stop trying to get his body back." Harry answered.

"I suppose not. I don't think I'll be much help to you though. You three have been doing this for months, plus I'm not that good to begin with." Neville said sadly.

"Quit putting yourself down, Neville." Harry commanded. "We're all going to help you and I'm sure you will be catching up to us in no time. You're my friend Neville, and I want to make sure that if something bad does happen you can defend yourself." Neville looked up at Harry in surprise. Harry not only considered him a friend but had confidence that he could learn and get stronger. He couldn't remember anyone ever thinking he would be a good wizard, not even his grandmother with her constant comparisons to his father.

"OK, Harry. I'll do my best." Neville said sincerely. Harry grinned and jumped up from his seat to head over to the training area as Neville rushed to follow. Daphne and Hermione had already stopped practicing and were talking when the other two approached them.

"Neville's in!" Harry announced excitedly. Hermione smiled while Daphne rolled her eyes at Harry's enthusiasm.

The group spent most of the rest of the night trying to help Neville learn the things they had already mastered. He was eager to learn but his magical abilities seemed very uneven to the others. Even when attempting to cast the same spell multiple times occasionally the spell would not work at all. Upon closer inspection Harry noticed that there was nothing wrong with his incantations or wand movements so it must be something else holding him back, although he had no idea what that was. Hermione and Daphne seemed to notice the same thing Harry did but neither of them could offer an explanation. Neville soon grew tired from the constant spell casting and decided to go to bed.

"I'll be back next time. I promise." Neville said as he walked out the door to head towards the Gryffindor dorms. Hermione and Daphne were also ready to stop but Harry knew he had to keep pushing himself to reach the point of magical exhaustion. He was about to start casting some of the more draining spells he knew when Hermione stopped him.

"Harry, how would you like to try some more conjuration tonight?" she asked. "You did agree to be my assistant after all."

"Sounds fun." Harry answered with a laugh. "What do you want me to do?"

"You're still wearing that belt that Dumbledore gave you, right?" she asked. When Harry nodded in affirmative she smiled and continue. "Excellent! I researched what it was and what it can do and figured out I can use it to determine how much effort it takes for you to cast a spell. With that I can find which things are harder to conjure than others. Are you following me?"

"I guess so." Harry answered uncertainly. He looked towards Daphne for reassurance but she just shrugged indicating she wasn't sure what Hermione wanted the information for either.

"Great." Hermione said. "We'll start with things you are sure to recognize..."

Harry quickly realized that Hermione had come prepared. She started off having him conjure things she knew would be difficult for him such as silver, bronze, and copper. The next few things she suggested were vastly less difficult for him and included a sheet of tin foil, a lump of coal, salt, sand, iron, and steel. After each item had been conjured Hermione would take measurements to determine how much power had been necessary and write the results on a roll of parchment that was growing longer and longer.

"Very interesting." Hermione said as she wrote down another measurement. "How about mercury next? It's that liquid they put in thermometers in case you weren't sure."

"Alright." Harry answered and looked back at the table he had been conjuring things on. A bowl had magically appeared, thanks to the Room of Requirement, and Harry pointed his wand at it while he prepared to cast the spell. When he spoke the incantation he was surprised to find that this conjuration was much more difficult than the others had been, although not as hard as some others such as copper and silver. "Strange. That was pretty hard to do."

"Was it?" Hermione asked excitedly. The thought of learning something new had taken hold of her and refused to let go. For a moment she looked confused at the results, but then an idea seemed to strike her. "Harry, can you try platinum next? If you need an example I am wearing my grandmother's necklace and it has a platinum charm on it." Harry nodded and studied the necklace for a moment before casting the spell again to similar results.

"That was about as hard as the mercury. I wonder why..." Harry said. Hermione meanwhile was practically jumping up and down in excitement as she started pulling books from her bag. Eventually she brought out a muggle textbook titled "Chemistry" and flipped it open to the very back where a large table was found marked 'Periodic Table of the Elements'.

"This is it, Harry! I was right, Chemistry is the key. It always has been." Hermione said.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked as he looked over to Daphne who looked equally confused. She knew all about magic, but the muggle sciences were a mystery to her.

"Wizards have always known that some things are harder to conjure than others, but they never knew why. Tell me, did you think it was harder to conjure bronze or copper?" Hermione asked.

"It was about the same I guess." Harry answered.

"Exactly! And that's because bronze is mostly made of copper but with some tin added to it, and you had no trouble conjuring tin. Look at the table Harry, all of the materials that are hard for you to conjure have been in this little group right here." she said as she pointed to the table in the back of her book. Harry looked and sure enough copper, silver, and gold were all in the same column. Platinum, gold, and mercury were also in the same row. Still, he didn't understand why Hermione was so excited.

"OK, so what's the big deal?" Harry asked.

"Harry, this is a major breakthrough!" Hermione insisted.

And it was, but her excitement was not just because of that. It was also because, if her suspicions were correct, she had solved a piece of the Riddle of Heron that her book's author never did. The materials needed for the ritual were actually elements and she had already positively identified five out of the nine. If her guess was correct the other four would be the elements on either side of silver and copper on the periodic table, a fact which explained why no wizard had been able to perform the ritual. After all, how many wizards had even heard of cadmium?

Hermione felt the urge to tell Harry why she was excited. To tell him about the book she had found and everything she had been doing. She got as far as opening her mouth to start before she suddenly stopped. She worried that Harry would be disappointed in her, even though she did not think she had done anything wrong. For a moment she said nothing, but eventually decided that she would tell Harry everything. Just not until after she had solved the rest of the riddle. Then she could give him the book and let him decide what he thought of it.

"So are you going to tell me why it is such a major breakthrough?" Harry asked, pulling Hermione out of her thoughts.

"Oh, of course." Hermione said. "More research is needed, but we could learn why some things are harder to conjure than others. We could learn how the Philosopher's Stone works, we might even be able to make one on our own. It makes you wonder if Flamel used similar research when he first created the Philosopher's Stone..."

"Ok, slow down Hermione." Harry interrupted with a laugh. Hermione had been rambling, like she often does when she gets excited. "It's probably enough that you understand it."

"Let's say this is as big of a breakthrough as you think it is," Daphne said with a concerned expression on her face "If so you must never publish your work."

"What?!" Hermione said in surprise.

"Think of what would happen if anyone could create their own Philosopher's Stone." Daphne answered. "It would be chaos. The economy would collapse because of all of the new gold, not to mention all the problems that would be caused with no one ever dying. Besides, there are definitely some people that should never get their hands on one." Harry and Hermione both knew exactly who she was talking about.

"I never thought about it like that." Hermione admitted. "Perhaps I'm not the first one to do this type of experiment, but they stopped for the same reasons. I guess I should just forget it."

"You misunderstand me, Hermione. Keep doing your research if you think it will help us, just don't let it get out to anyone else." Daphne said. Harry began laughing at how wonderfully Slytherin the idea was, which didn't mean he did not like it. Hermione seemed to consider the suggestion and then nod in agreement with it.

"You do know that it is doubtful I will ever be able to make a Philosopher's Stone, right?" Hermione asked, worried that expectations were getting too high.

"Perhaps not." Daphne answered. "But we should try for any advantage we can. If you do find something, it will probably be something no one else has."

"We can keep working on it tomorrow, ok?" Harry suggested. "I would like to finish up here pretty soon." Hermione nodded and began to gather her things up. She knew she would probably spend the next few hours going over what she had learned but she did not mind the effort. Daphne had decided to stay and wait for Harry so Hermione left the couple alone. As she left her mind returned to the book that had taken up so much of her time since she had found it. The author had included his thoughts on the nature of magic and it had begun to make her think about what it meant to say that magic was light or dark. While she knew what the Ministry of Magic thought the dark arts were she also knew they had not bothered to explain their reasoning. Her books mostly just repeated what the Ministry said and were therefore useless.

'Perhaps I should talk to Daphne about it.' Hermione thought. If anyone she knew might be able to answer her questions it would be her. Hermione would consider bringing it up, but for now was content to keep thinking about it on her own. She knew some magic could warp a person's mind and personality and had no intention of ever attempting that, but surely there was other magic out there for her to learn that would not do that and was also not exactly ministry approved. It might give her an advantage in a dangerous situation, and she knew that being friends with Harry made her very likely to be in such situations.

'Anything to protect myself and my friends.' she thought as she began to study.

* * *

Author's Note:

Definitely some mixed reactions on Hermione's interest in potentially dark rituals. I could be persuaded to take this either way at this point, although I am leaning one way right now. Either path she could take has potential for some good story points. I will say this though, in a lot of ways I agree with those of you who have compared Hermione's relationship with Harry to Bellatrix's with Voldemort. I do not plan on making Hermione the villian of this story, however, so if that is your worry you can rest assured.

Now on to something a little different. Math haters beware!

Ok, let's clear some things up regarding last chapter's revelations on Harry's increasing power. All we know for certain at this point is that Harry started the year already slightly above average as far as his age group is concerned (evidenced by his ability to successfully cast the Patronus Charm as a third year student among other things), since then his magical strength has increased dramatically enough for him and his teachers to notice, and that according to Dumbledore his power increased by approximately one percent following his magical exhaustion. The way I see it this is simply not enough information to accurately determine the true rate at which he is improving.

Let's forget about the "one percent" part and express this a different way. Assume that the first measurement Dumbledore took found Harry's power level to be 1000. Afterwards it had increased to 1010 (a one percent increase). While it is completely true that this could be explained by FV=PV(1+0.01)^n it could also be result of FV=PV+10*n (where FV is the future value, PV is the present value, and n is the number workouts Harry has gone through).

Now, when I was writing this part I thought it made sense for Harry to have gone through approximately 20 of these practice sessions at this point. So that would mean if Harry was always gaining 1% his starting magical power would have been about 820. If the growth was linear then the initial value would have been 800. Both seem reasonable. But then again we only really have that one measurement to go by so it is possible that the growth is completely random. Who can say at this point? Well I guess I could since I'm the author...

Let me just say that I did recognize that with compound growth Harry could get ridiculously powerful in a fairly short amount of time and that's no fun. I would prefer to hit a balance somewhere between helpless (as he was in the books) and god-like.

As always let me know what you think and thanks for reading.


	19. Chapter 19

"I'm not getting anywhere!" Hermione said with a frustrated sigh as she threw her quill down on the desk in front of her.

Over a week had passed since she had identified the nine elements needed for the ritual, with Harry's help of course. She had kept the items Harry had conjured for further study so she now had all that was needed to perform the ritual except a sample of gold. She thought that she could probably just use a galleon if she needed to study the gold but worried that it might have protective charms placed on it that could disrupt her analysis. The only piece of gold in her possession was a thin bracelet given to her by her mother after she had gotten top marks in first year. It was one of Hermione's most treasured possessions.

The problem Hermione now faced was much more complicated than she had assumed it would be. Each element had a rune that corresponded with it and the book she had found informed her that using the wrong rune or element would end in disaster for the person attempting it. With nine runes and nine elements it meant that there were literally hundreds of thousands of different ways they could be arranged. Those two facts meant trial and error was definitely not the right way to figure out the answer to this puzzle. She truly believed she had access to all of the information she needed, but it would still take a lot of work to finish it. 'And what for?' she sometimes wondered. She still had no idea what the ritual was for or at what price the benefits would come, and she was not foolish enough to think that there would be no consequences from the ritual. All rituals involved some element of sacrifice, usually connected whatever benefit the ritual provided. For instance, one of the rituals listed in her book would make a wizard immune to the effects of fire and heat but much more vulnerable to cold. Another ritual enabled its user to breathe underwater, but only after sacrificing the ability to breathe air.

The author of her book had speculated what the ritual was used for, but it was quite clear he had no idea either. The one thing he was sure of, although Hermione was not convinced, was that it would give its user access to a kind of magic no one else had. That statement was vague enough to mean anything though. She pondered those things for a little while longer before closing the book and deciding to end her research for the day. She was spending a lot of time on this project and worried that her friends would start to wonder what she was doing with her time. Her friends, however, were not at all surprised by her behavior. It was actually quite typical for their bushy haired friends to disappear for hours at a time when she was trying to learn something new. And so, despite Hermione's worries, they had no idea anything strange was going on.

* * *

Harry, meanwhile, had his own puzzle to solve.

He had found that Neville was very insecure about his abilities as a wizard and as a result did not learn well in classroom settings where other people were watching and judging him. His atrocious performance in Potions was mainly due to Professor Snape's hostile attitude towards him. Once he was removed from the classroom and learning from a tutor in one on one sessions he began to rapidly improve. Many people in the school had assumed that Neville was an idiot due to his poor grades, but Harry was discovering that was far from true. Neville was actually a quite intelligent young man who desperately wanted to improve himself but had always been too shy and uncertain of himself to ask for help. During the course of the year Harry's friendship had broken through those boundaries and was starting to have a positive effect on him. Underneath it all Neville was honest, hard working, and a loyal friend. It made Harry wonder why the Sorting Hat had chosen to put him into Gryffindor and not Hufflepuff where he might have fit in better. But then again, perhaps Neville's brave side was just waiting for a chance to show itself.

As Neville improved his magical problems became more obvious. He was shockingly inconsistent in casting spells for reasons that Harry was unable to identify. Neville could cast the same spell ten times, with perfect wand movements and incantations, and only get the spell to work six or seven of those times. After one such unexplained failure Harry motioned for Neville to stop casting and then began pacing back and forth in front of his confused friend.

"This doesn't make sense, Neville. You're not doing anything wrong that I can see, so it's got to be something else." Harry explained as he paced. "The only time I've seen anything like it was in second year when Ron was trying to use a broken wand. Wait a minute, your wand isn't broken is it?"

"I don't think so, Harry." Neville answered, but began inspecting it anyway. Neither of them could find any cracks or blemished on the wand however.

"No, I guess that would have been too simple." Harry said with a disappointed frown.

"Harry, do you think it matters that I'm using my dad's wand?" Neville asked uncertainly. "Gran always said he was a powerful wizard and his wand had to be just as powerful, so that can't be it right? Harry's jaw dropped open in shock. He had never even thought to ask Neville if he was using a wand that had chosen him, he just assumed Neville had. The Weasley's re-used wands because they could not afford to buy new ones for all of their children and he knew the Longbottoms would not have that problem.

"Of course it matters Neville!" Harry replied. "You can't just use any wand you want to, the wand has to pick you."

"What are you talking about?" Neville, who had never been to Ollivander's and thus never heard his speech about wands picking wizards, asked.

"Neville, if I were to use the wand you are using I could probably not do too much better than you are doing. That wand is not a good match for you, even though it was your dad's. Your grandmother really should have known better than to insist you use that wand, it's been holding you back all this time."

"So I need a new wand?"

"Not just any wand." Harry said. "You need a wand that is suited just for you. Ollivander's has thousands of wands, I'm sure you will be able to find one there that will react to you better than the one you have now."

"But Gran said my dad's wand was powerful."

"I'm sure it was. But only when he was using it." Harry explained. "Somewhere out there is a wand that will be as special to you as mine is to me."

"Why is yours so special?" Neville asked. Harry hesitated for a moment, uncertain if he wanted to tell Neville how his wand was connected to Voldemort's. Truthfully the connection worried him, and it didn't help that his dreams were now filled of strange visions of the Dark Lord that made no sense to him. But Neville was an ally, and he deserved to know what was going on.

"When I got my wand Ollivander told me that the phoenix who provided the feather for its core only gave one other feather." Harry said. "And that wand belongs to Voldemort." It was Neville's turn to be shocked, but before he could ask any questions Harry continued speaking. "I don't know what it means. Maybe nothing, but I don't think so. I think I have more in common with Voldemort than I'd like, but I won't turn out like he did."

"I never thought you would, Harry." Neville reassured him. "It's just... a surprise I guess."

"I know what you mean." Harry answered with a little laugh. "Some times I just get this weird feeling, like there is something I can't see pulling me and Voldemort together. I wish it weren't true, but it is. That's why I'm doing all this, Neville. Voldemort isn't done trying to kill me, and I need to be ready for the next time." Neville nodded in agreement, secretly thankful that it wasn't him Voldemort was after. He had no idea how close he had come to being the target of the Dark Lord's wrath.

"Don't worry, Harry. I'll be there to help." Neville assured him. "But it would be nice if I could get a new wand first. How do you do that anyway?"

"Well Ron was able to get one after he broke his..."

"I am not breaking my dad's wand, Harry." Neville said. "No way."

"I don't think you'll have to. Just go to Ollivander's in Diagon Alley the next time you get the chance. I've heard that you're not allowed to have two wands, but since you never got a wand to begin with I don't think it will matter. After all that is your dad's wand and he's still alive." Harry winced as soon as he said it, hoping he had not offended his friend. But Neville just nodded and did not seem to blame Harry for bringing up the sensitive subject of his parents.

"That won't be until summer." Neville said. "And then I'll have to convince my Gran to let me get a new one. She won't like it."

"If you don't think she'll let you, then don't tell her." Harry recommended. "I'll give you the money to buy a new wand if you need it."

"Harry, you don't have to do that..."

"Maybe not, but I've got the money to spare and I'd like my friend to be able to protect himself." Harry answered. "I'll give you the galleons when we get back to the dorms, no arguing. Consider it a birthday present."

"But my birthday isn't until July."

"An early birthday present then." Harry said with a grin which grew into a smile when Neville nodded in agreement.

"So what do we do now?" Neville asked. "I'm not going to get much better until I get a new wand after all."

"How about we start working on Potions?" Harry suggested. "I haven't spent much time studying that this year so we'll be learning most of the material for the first time together, plus you don't need a wand to do it. Besides, don't you want to see the look on Snape's face when you get an O on your exams?"

"That would be pretty funny." Neville agreed with a laugh. "Alright, we'll do Potions." Harry smiled and congratulated himself for coming up with a good solution to their problem. He couldn't wait for the day when Snape's two least favorite students did better than his beloved Slytherins in his class. Harry was definitely going to enjoy that victory.

* * *

Nearly a week later Harry and Daphne were making their way to the owlery so that Harry could mail off a response to Sirius's last letter. Harry's godfather had the good sense to stay hidden even though the decree that said he should be given the Dementor's Kiss upon capture had been lifted. Fudge was still the Minister of Magic and even though it appeared he was on his way out there was no telling what kind of damage he could do on his way down. Although Sirius's letters never said exactly where he was Harry got the impression that he had found a safe house to stay in and was probably getting help from someone, probably Remus. Harry just hoped his godfather was happy and recovering from his stay in Azkaban.

"Fudge's hearing is scheduled for June 25, and if that happens we'll have a new Minister by the first week of July." Daphne said confidently. They, like many other wizards and witches in Great Britain, had been discussing the downfall of Minister Fudge. It was the most exciting political scandal in decades.

"Good. Surely his replacement will be an improvement, no matter who it is." Harry responded.

"We can only hope. Sadly, there are worse politicians out there. Fudge, for the most part, was just an idiot and not actively evil."

"Tell Sirius that." Harry answered, to which Daphne shrugged.

"Well I did say 'for the most part'. He definitely could be evil when he wanted to be." Daphne said. "You know, you could always let it slip who you want to see replace Fudge when Skeeter happens to be listening. Take advantage of the fame that comes with being The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Would it help? I thought everyone hated me and thought I was going to be the next Dark Lord."

"No, that was last week. They like you this week." Daphne answered with a grin.

"Oh, goody." Harry said sarcastically. "I don't even know who I would support anyway. Any suggestions?"

"I'll think about it." Daphne answered. "I'm leaning towards Rufus Scrimgeour or Amelia Bones though, mostly because they both come from the law enforcement side and would probably increase funding for the Aurors. Bones seems pretty honest, but I'm not so sure about Scrimgeour."

"Bones... is she related to Susan Bones from Hufflepuff?" Harry asked.

"It's her aunt, I think." Daphne answered.

"Oh, well she seems nice enough." Harry responded.

"Harry you can't base your decision on that!" Daphne laughed. "We're going to have to teach you this whole politics thing aren't we?"

"I'd rather not be involved in it."

"You don't have a choice, you already are. You are going to have to face the fact that people care what you think. That gives you influence and influence is power. Use it to your advantage." Daphne advised. Harry shrugged, knowing he had been caught in another 'how to act like a Slytherin lesson from his girlfriend. He didn't mind though, in fact it was probably good for him. By this time they had reached the Owlery and upon Harry's entrance Hedwig flew down to meet her owner.

"Hello, girl." Harry said as he stroked the owl's feathers. "Take this to Sirius, ok? Thank you Hedwig." The owl hooted softly at him before flying off carrying Harry's letter. Neither Harry nor Daphne had noticed that they were not alone in the Owlery until after Hedwig was gone.

"So, helping an escaped convict are you?" Draco Malfoy called from the entrance to the Owlery. Harry turned to look at him and frowned, Draco must have gotten there right after he and Daphne did and heard at least part of their conversation.

"He's not a convict, Malfoy." Harry answered. "To be a convict you need to actually be given a trial first." Draco shrugged as if this didn't matter.

"Whatever. It's still a crime to be helping him, perhaps I should turn you into the Aurors." he suggested. Harry frowned angrily but was surprised when Daphne started laughing.

"Draco, haven't you been paying attention?" she asked. "No one would care even if you did tell them. Sirius Black is innocent, and Minister Fudge will soon be forced out because of it. Harry would probably get a medal for helping the poor, innocent, man." Draco scowled at her statement, but suspected she was right.

"What's with you this year, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "You haven't been going out of your way to make my life miserable."

"Maybe I have better things to do. Didn't that ever cross your little mind, Potter?" Draco said angrily, although he was beginning to look uncomfortable.

"Perhaps, but I don't think that's it." Harry responded. "Strange how everything changed after I saved your life, isn't it? Dumbledore told me what Pureblood tradition requires in a situation like that. You're a good Pureblood, aren't you Draco?"

By this point Draco's face had turned red, although Harry could not tell if it was because of embarrassment or anger. Harry was surprised when Daphne put her hand on his arm and gave him a small shake of her head.

"Of course he is, Harry." Daphne said. "What did your father say when he found out you had sworn an oath to support Harry?" Draco flinched a little when she asked that and Daphne assumed that Lucius Malfoy's reaction had not been a happy one. She was absolutely correct. Draco had sworn the traditional oath as his education on pureblooded culture had demanded of him but his father was furious when he found that out. Lucius did not suggest that Draco should not have sworn the oath because his beliefs would have demanded he do the same thing in such a situation, he instead told his son that he should have died instead of accepting help from Harry Potter. Draco suspected that when he went home for the summer he would be receiving some of his father's special brand of punishment in the form of the Cruciatus curse.

"I did what I had to." Draco replied, not really answering the question. "This changes nothing, Potter. I still despise you, and one day I will be free of this silly oath."

"One of us would have to be dead for that to happen." Harry answered. "Believe it or not, I don't hate you Malfoy. If I did I would have let you die. We don't have to be enemies, we only will be if you force that to happen."

"We can't change what we are." Draco answered. "I am a Malfoy, you are a Potter. That is all that needs be said." With that he turned and walked out of the Owlery, leaving Harry and Daphne alone once again. Harry frowned and wondered if Malfoy really did believe that his fate in life had already been determined. Harry certainly didn't.

"What do you think will happen to him?" Harry asked a few moments later.

"I don't know, Harry." Daphne answered. "He's still trying to be his father. There's no hope for him unless that changes." Harry nodded in silent agreement with her. He no longer felt angry towards his former rival, he just felt pity. He wondered what would have happened to the boy if he had grown up away from the influence of Lucius Malfoy, perhaps he could have even been likeable. Harry took Daphne's hand as they walked out of the Owlery, but his brief conversation with Malfoy stayed on his mind for the rest of the day. In the end, he simply found himself hoping that the Slytherin would not follow his father's footsteps and force them to become enemies. He would prefer not to have to kill him.

* * *

Finally, after many weeks of studying, Hermione had a breakthrough. She had known that the creator of this ritual was a Greek wizard who had lived over 2,000 years ago and so many of the clues he left behind might only be recognizable to those familiar with his culture. So she began reading everything she could on the ancient Greek wizards and the society they had built. Her efforts paid off when she found a clue she had not even noticed before that identified which element corresponded to one of the runes. After that four of the others were easy to determine, although the last four were still a bit of a mystery to her. Despite that she felt closer to solving the Riddle of Heron than she ever had before and now thought it could be finished in a few weeks if she was lucky.

Happy with her progress, Hermione decided to take a break for the rest of the night. She was in the Room of Requirement and knew Harry and Neville would be coming in soon to practice Potions anyway. As she carefully closed the book she noticed that the page just inside the front cover had become unstuck. Destroying a book was unforgivable as far as she was concerned and immediately began trying to repair it. It was then that she noticed what she had assumed was one page was in fact two pages stuck together. Very carefully, she began to pull the two pages apart, She was quite excited because she hoped the first page would have the name of the author and when the book was written. She moved slowly so that none of the pages would be torn and after several minutes she was able to pull the pages apart far enough to notice a design on one of them. As she continued pulling more of the page was uncovered and she realized that the design looked very familiar.

The drawing on the first page was very similar to the crest used for Slytherin house, although this one did not contain any mention of Hogwarts. For a moment she thought that perhaps it was just an older version of the Slytherin symbol, but then remembered a fact from 'Hogwarts" A History' that it had not been changed since the school's opening, No, she realized, this wasn't a school crest. It was a family crest, meaning that the book she had been obsessed with was written by someone from Salazar Slytherin's family. Considering the age of the book, it could have even been written by Salazar Slytherin himself.

Hermione closed the book, unsure of what to do now. Did it even matter that the book was written by a Slytherin? She wasn't sure, although it certainly would explain the author's extensive knowledge on dark rituals. Hermione closed the book and went back to her chair to sit down and think about this new fact. As soon as she sat down though she heard the noise of the door being opened and two voices that she recognized as Harry and Neville talking, She briefly thought that perhaps she should hide the book, but realized there was no time to do that,

"Hey Hermione. What are you doing here?" Harry asked when he noticed her. "Did you want to help us out with our Potions?"

"Uhh, sure Harry." Hermione answered. "Actually, there was something I needed to talk to you about."

"What is it? Is everything ok?" Harry asked.

"You see I found this book." Hermione said and turned to point at the book on rituals she had been using. To her surprise though the book had disappeared along with the stand it had been laying on. She realized the room must have hidden it went she thought about hiding it as Harry and Neville came in. Hermione looked back at her friends who were now waiting for her to finish.

"It's probably nothing." Hermione finally said. "Just forget I said anything."

"Are you sure you're ok?" Harry asked, the concern for his friend evident in his voice.

"Sure, Harry. I've just had a lot on my mind lately" Hermione answered. It was just a book after all, wasn't it? And the book wasn't talking to her or trying to get her to do anything, so it wasn't evil in of itself. Besides the ritual, even if she did try it, wasn't the work of Slytherin. He was just trying to figure it out, and he clearly didn't even know as much about it as she did. No, there was no reason to worry and if she told Harry that is surely all he would do, It wouldn't even matter if she couldn't figure out the last four runes.

"OK. So how about helping us with Potions?" Harry asked, unaware of his friends train of thought.

"Sounds fun, Harry." Hermione replied as they began working.

* * *

And so the weeks passed and the end of the school year drew nearer, and with it the third task of the Triwizard Tournament.

At Hogwarts the students soon became too worried about their OWLs, NEWTs, and regular end of year exams to spend much time gossiping about either the tournament or its participants. That did not mean the majority of them suddenly decided to forget all of the negative rumors that had been started regarding Harry, just that they were mainly ignored in favor of other topics. For most of them it had been a typical year, despite the excitement of the Triwizard Tournament.

The rest of the British wizarding world was still obsessed with the political drama surrounding Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. As the days went by it became clearer and clearer that he would not survive the hearing unless he had some huge surprise waiting, which he did not. Rita Skeeter had not let up in her attacks on Fudge, and Harry and Daphne were happy to let her continue to do so as long as she was still useful to them. There had still been no sign of either Peter Pettigrew or Barty Crouch Junior, despite all of Dumbledore and the Ministry's efforts. Whatever they were up to, they were being quiet about it. That fact worried Harry and Dumbledore more than if they had been making visible and obvious moves.

Harry, Daphne, Hermione, and Neville all continued training themselves whenever they had time to. For Harry, this meant he was able to complete about three of his special training sessions every week. By the end of the year it was obvious to all of them that Harry had vastly improved over where he was at when the school year began. The most surprising development however belonged to Neville. Once away from Professor Snape's influence he had developed a true love and talent for potions. His interest in the subject had drastically increased after Hermione pointed out that most Potions ingredients were plants, and Neville was truly a prodigy when it came to Herbology, Realizing how closely linked the two subjects were, Neville immediately dedicated himself to learning the properties of his beloved plants and how they could be used in various potions. Snape still harassed him during class, but he had fewer and fewer legitimate reasons to do so.

By the end of the year the four of them had developed close friendships with each other. Even Hermione and Daphne, who had both initially been wary of the other girl, had grown to respect and like each other. Harry thought that despite all that had gone wrong in the year he had still enjoyed it much more than any of the previous ones, a fact he would not have expected to be true at the beginning of the year.

'Now,' Harry thought, 'I only have to get through one more task and the year will be over.' He had no idea how difficult that would be.

* * *

It was a week before the end of the year and Hermione was once again in the Room of Requirement trying to solve the Riddle of Heron. A month before she had identified another connection between a rune and an element leaving only three more to find. She had narrowed it down far enough that if she found one more she would easily be able to determine the other two.

The work had been complicated and exhausting, causing her to study subjects she had not even considered before. She had enjoyed the experience however and was glad she had gone through with it, even if she had no idea what to do with the information. She had struggled with the decision but decided that the risks were not worth going through with the ritual. In fact she was a little ashamed of herself for even considering it. Hermione knew she could find other ways to improve, besides it was not important to rush things.

"YES!" Hermione suddenly yelled, surprising even herself with how loud it came out. She had figured out another piece of the puzzle, but it was the key piece. At last she had identified in what configuration all nine elements and runes should be used. Hermione's face broke out into a huge smile at what she considered the greatest accomplishment of her life so far. Of course she could not prove it was right since she wasn't willing to go through with the ritual, but she was certain it was correct.

"Perhaps I should tell Harry." Hermione considered, There was no reason not to, was there? Of course Harry did have a lot on his mind with the final task only days away... She would wait, Hermione decided. After the year was over and everything had calmed down she would tell him everything. She only hoped he wouldn't be too mad at her for not telling him earlier.

* * *

Author's Note:

Next chapter we start the third task. I hope this didn't feel too rushed moving on from the second task but there was little I wanted to do with that time period and decided not to just fill it with pointless rambling. I do promise you things will be different, I just hope you like what I have planned.

As always let me know what you think and thanks for reading.


	20. Chapter 20

At last the day of the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament had arrived. Harry tried his best not to let the excitement that had built up effect him, but as the date drew nearer the anticipation had grown to a fever pitch in the castle and it was impossible to ignore. He told himself that he should be proud to have done so well in the tournament as it was, but he knew that if he did not win the tournament he would be very disappointed. Harry had never worked so hard for anything in his entire life and at last he would have the chance to prove himself in front of everyone.

With about an hour left before the task was to start Harry, Daphne, Hermione, and Neville went to the spot where the Quidditch pitch once stood but was not a massive maze that Harry would have to navigate, The hedges that served as the maze's walls had grown since Harry last saw it and he knew that there would be no easy way to go through or over them. The stands were already at least half full and they were spending their time talking, laughing, and singing to a band that was playing festive music. All things considered, Harry thought it was a great setting for the third task.

"Wow. How many people do you think are going to be here?" Neville asked as he looked around.

"I don't know. Thousands." Harry answered as he led them to the front where they could sit down. None of the other champions had arrived yet, but Ludo Bagman was there talking to one of his assistants. Harry noticed that when Bagman saw him his face took on a very confused expression, but it quickly went away and was forgotten as Harry returned to the conversation his friends were having.

"I should have looked harder Harry, I know I could have found a way through the maze..." Hermione was saying as she looked at the massive obstacle in front of her. Harry laughed in response to her concern though.

"Stop worrying about it, Hermione. I am as ready as I can be." he assured her.

"Still, you should be careful." Daphne reminded him. "There is really no telling what they have in there. People have died in this tournament, do not underestimate it." Harry nodded in agreement, he had gone through this on his own just hours earlier. Winning the tournament was not something worth dying for, but he would fight for it none the less. He had long since vowed to win the tournament, an action that had resulted in a number of positive changes in his life, so there was no way he would let this chance slip by him.

"So what does Krum think, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"That he would rather be playing Quidditch." Hermione answered. "Karkaroff was really the one pushing him to enter the tournament and now that he's gone Viktor just seems bored with it. He'll do his best, but his real goal is to not get hurt and endanger his Quidditch career."

"That's probably the smart thing to do." Harry commented. "Cedric and Fleur won't be holding back though, at least judging from what I have seen so far. They're all good competitors, but I would guess that Cedric is going to be the toughest opponent."

"And he'll be the second one in the maze, right after you." Neville added. Due to their performances in the first two tasks Harry would enter the maze first, followed a few minutes later by Cedric, then Krum, and finally Fleur. It gave Harry a slight advantage, but by no means guaranteed his victory. The group continued chatting until a few minutes later when Hermione saw Viktor Krum arrive. She then wished Harry good luck and gave him a hug before walking off to talk to the Bulgarian champion.

"She's going to break up with him. Not right now, of course, but soon." Daphne commented as she watched Hermione and Krum talk on the other side of the stands.

"What?" Harry said in surprise. "I thought Hermione liked Krum."

"She does, just not enough. Did you know he asked her to come back to Bulgaria with him?" Daphne asked. "He even offered to help her transfer to Durmstrang."

"No, she didn't tell me." Harry answered.

"Even Krum could see that things are getting dangerous in England these days. He thought she'd be safer there with him, and he's probably right. But Hermione told him that she couldn't leave, no matter how dangerous things got. Apparently they argued about it but she wouldn't change her mind."

"When did this happen?" Harry asked, wondering why Hermione had told Daphne and not him. His friend had seemed a little distant over the past few weeks.

"Over the past few days for the most part. She wanted to tell you about it but thought you didn't need to worry about her love life with the third task coming up." Daphne said. Harry frowned, wishing that Hermione had talked to him anyway. At the very least he could have told her that he supported her decision. It wasn't surprising that Krum wanted nothing to do with the problems in England though, it was after all not his home. Still, Krum seemed like a good guy and it would have been nice to have him as an ally.

"I'll talk to her after this is all over with. I suppose I haven't spent much time with her lately either. I've just been busy." Harry said with a shrug. It was true. He felt like his days had been overwhelmed with schoolwork, practice for the tournament, studying potions with Neville, and spending any free time with Daphne that his friendship with Hermione had been neglected. He vowed to fix that once the tournament was finally over and behind him.

"Hey Harry, ready to lose?" a friendly voice asked from behind him, causing Harry to turn around and look for its source. He saw a smiling Cedric Diggory walking towards him holding hands with Cho Chang.

"Cho, it's great to see you again." Harry answered, smiling. "Although I do wonder why you still waste your time with this berk."

"Oh, he's good for the occasional laugh." Cho answered, trying not to giggle while making fun of her boyfriend. "Probably the same reason Daphne keeps you around."

"Exactly." Daphne answered before Harry could say anything.

"Harry, do you see what you've done?" Cedric replied. "You've turned them both against us. Next thing you know they'll be picking on Neville too."

"Leave me out of this." Neville wisely commented, resulting in laughs from everyone else.

'You ready for this, Harry?" Cedric asked seriously.

"I think so." Harry answered with a nod. "What about you?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. I just wanted to say that you've really impressed me, Harry." Cedric said. "When your name came out of the Goblet of Fire I thought you would be lucky to survive the tournament, but here were are nearly at the end and you're beating all of us. Whatever happens, you should be proud of yourself."

"Thanks, Cedric. That means a lot to me." Harry replied sincerely. "I really shouldn't be in this tournament to begin with, and you would be winning right now if I wasn't."

"That's not your fault, Harry." Cedric answered. He knew better than to think that Harry had put his name in the Goblet of Fire and had never really believed it. "Still, I hope your ready to get your ass kicked by me today."

"I look forward to seeing you try." Harry said with a laugh. A moment later a loud voice was heard calling for the champions to assemble at the entrance of the maze for final instructions. Harry looked around and noticed that in the time they had been talking the stands had completely filled up with eager spectators. "Sounds like it's time to go..."

Before he could leave or say anything else Daphne wrapped him up in a tight hug and softly said "Be careful, good luck." to him. Harry nodded and hugged her back before letting go of the embrace and turning towards the maze. He glanced sideways to see Cho had Cedric in a similar hug, except she appeared to be crying as Cedric assured her he would be alright. Nodding, she finally let go and the two Hogwarts champions approached the third and final task of the Triwizard tournament side by side. Ludo Bagman was at the entrance to maze motioning them over, and when all four champions were there he began to go over what was expected.

"Very good, you're all here. Congratulations on making it this far." Bagman said. "But this will be the most dangerous task yet. If, at any time, you can no longer continue in the maze all you must do is fire sparks into the air and someone will come get you. The first person to grab the Triwizard Cup will be declared the winner. Now, are there any questions?" Bagman looked from person to person, giving them the chance to say something but none of the champions seemed to have anything they needed to ask. When his eyes landed on Harry Bagman's mouth opened as if he had something to say, but quickly closed his mouth and once again got a confused expression on his face which he tried to shake off so that he could continue.

"Well then... you'll be up first Harry. The cannon firing will be your signal to proceed. Good luck to all of you." Bagman said as he walked off. Harry took his place at the entrance to the maze and tried to calm himself before he began. In the background Bagman was speaking to the audience and informing them all of the rules for the third task, although Harry wasn't really paying attention. Suddenly the crowd began to quiet down as they all waited for the cannon to fire. Harry pulled out his wand and wrapped his fingers tightly around it as the excitement in the crowd began to rise. Moments that felt like hours passed as Harry eagerly waited to begin.

_**BOOM!**_

Finally, the cannon fired and Harry happily ran into the maze. Seconds later he ran into a wall and was forced to make his first decision of the day: whether to turn left or right. Neither option appeared any more attractive than they other, so Harry picked one at random and turned left, heading deeper into the maze. He had walked about twenty paces in that direction when he met his first obstacle of the day, although this one made him laugh instead of shiver in fear. A group of about a dozen cornish pixies was flying straight towards him and they appeared to be quite angry. This was something that even an average wizard should have no problem with, although he did remember it being too much for Gilderoy Lockhart to handle in second year.

"Stupefy!" Harry called out, altering the wand movement slightly so that the stunner was a bit weaker but covered a larger area. As the bright red light hit the pixies they immediately dropped to the ground unconscious. Harry looked at the tiny blue creatures with and laughed, wondering what else he would find in the maze. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar that came from somewhere deeper into the maze. The roar was easily as loud as a dragon's, although it sounded different and must have come from something else. It seemed that the more dangerous obstacles would be found farther in to the maze.

The sound of the cannon firing forced Harry to start moving again. He knew that it was the signal for Cedric to enter the maze and he wasn't that far ahead of the other Hogwart's champion. He looked back to see if it was possible to see Cedric from this point in the maze, but at that moment the huge bushes making up the wall of the maze grew together and blocked his view and his way back. The new wall looked just like all the others, meaning it would be impossible for him to tell if the maze had changed unless he remembered what it looked like previously. His thought that attempting to map out the maze would be useless proved to be absolutely correct.

Harry turned and continued in the direction he had been heading. Soon he was faced with another decision on which way to go and this time chose to turn right instead of heading straight. He knew that the Triwizard Cup was roughly in the center of the maze so decided that he would try to head in that direction, although he knew that there was no way he would find a direct route. The path he was on lead him through many twists and turns, but the path did not branch out and offer him a choice to head in a different direction. After a while he began to get a bad feeling that this part of the maze led to nowhere, a belief that was confirmed a few minutes later when he ran into a dead end. He groaned in frustration as he had no other choice but to turn around and retrace his steps. He doubted it would be the last time that happened to him today.

Once again Harry heard the cannon firing, this time meaning that Viktor Krum had now entered the maze. Harry wished he had some way of knowing how the other were doing but that was impossible. The only sign that he would have they were in trouble would be if they shot sparks into the air, and that had not happened yet.

Harry continued on and began to explore new paths that would hopefully lead him to the Triwizard Cup. Eventually he game to a circular clearing that had five paths leading off in different directions. As he stood there deciding which way to go he heard the soft sounds of some creature coming towards him. He turned to face the new challenge with his wand ready to defend himself when he saw dozens of creatures that looked like grey lobsters with green spots approaching him. The small animals were closer than he thought they would be and Harry knew he was very fortunate to have spotted them when he did. Harry recognized them to be mackled malaclaws and while it was doubtful they could kill anyone a bite from a malaclaw would make a person unlucky for about a week. Any champion that was bit by a malaclaw would therefore almost certainly not win the tournament and was likely to get hurt by one of the maze's other obstacles.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry called out, casting the body bind curse on all of the creatures at once. Even with the curse in place the lobster-like creatures were still attempting to bit him, although they couldn't get any closer. Harry then levitated them all into the center of the circular room where he thought one of the other champions might come and disillusioned them. Harry laughed as he walked out of the circular room and into an unexplored path. He would know better than to walk through the center of the room, but maybe his competition wouldn't. He did not want any of them to get hurt, but he would take any advantage he could get.

The cannon then fired for the fourth and final time. Now all of the champions were in the maze. Harry felt that he probably had a decent advantage on the others but the maze was so confusing that it was hard to tell how much of one he had. He felt a renewed since of urgency rising in him and knew he would have to move fast if he wanted to win.

As Harry rounded the next turn in the maze he came face to face with a giant wall of fire. He suddenly had the urge to turn around and head in a different direction and in fact was almost back around the corner when he realized that his urge to leave had been produced by a strong compulsion charm. Knowing that it was a trick, Harry turned back towards the wall of fire. He pointed his wand at the fire and cast the flame freezing charm, but his spell flew past the wall of fire and seemed to have no effect at all. Harry tried again and got identical results. With a curious look on his face, Harry began to approach the wall of fire and immediately realized something was off about it. Despite the huge flames that reached as high as the massive walls of the maze the fire was not giving off any heat at all.

"It's an illusion!" Harry suddenly realized. Smiling, Harry confidently walked through the flames and safely out the other side. He hoped this was a sign he was headed in the right direction, but knew it was possible the maze's designer just wanted him to think that. The maze was proving to be quite challenging.

Harry kept exploring the maze, but the next two paths he took resulted in dead ends that wasted valuable time. The other champions could be well ahead of him by now if they didn't face similar problems. His worries that the other champions could be beating him were lessened when he heard a feminine scream towards the direction of the entrance of the maze followed shortly there after by red sparks shooting high into the sky. Harry assumed that meant Fleur Delacour, wherever she had been, was now out of the tournament. He wondered what had gotten to her, but since she took a different path than him it was impossible to know.

As Harry continued walking the maze wall suddenly closed behind him, forcing him to continue in the direction he was heading. Only moments later though he felt the ground begin to slightly shake and heard loud footsteps approaching him. Something big was headed his way, and from the sounds of things was just around the next corner. Harry held his wand out, ready to cast any spell he needed to and waited for the threat to approach. Slowly a massive shape turned the corner in front of him and Harry found himself facing a huge troll.

The troll slowly turned it head as if it knew someone was close by but wasn't sure where. Harry noticed that it was dragging a large wooden club behind it, although due to its size the club looked more like a tree trunk than anything else. It then began snarling and sniffing the air like an animal still looking for its prey. Harry knew that he could get past this obstacle, after all he and Ron had fought off a troll as first years. This one was quite a bit bigger, but it still had weaknesses. While trolls were incredibly resistant to spells cast on them, spells that affected the environment around them were especially useful.

The troll finally spotted Harry and began charging towards him, his massive club held up high in the air waiting to strike. Harry knew he had to act quickly and first cast "Aguamenti", causing a large pool of water appear between him and the troll. His next spells was "Glacius", which froze the water he had just conjured. When the troll hit the ice it began to slip and Harry helped it fall by cast a strong "Impedimenta". As the tripping hex hit the troll it fell hard on its face and broke its nose. Harry wasted no time in conjuring vines out of the earth that wrapped around the troll and held him down. He kept conjuring vines until he was sure that the troll could not move at all, although it still was shaking in a useless attempt to free itself. He then calmly walked past it and further into the maze, leaving the troll screaming in frustration.

Harry kept searching for the Triwizard Cup, but after another fifteen minutes he was still unable to figure out where to go. He knew that he was now somewhere close to the center of the maze and that the Cup should be close by, but he had still not seen it. At one point he had heard the sound of Krum battling some type of beast, but the thick walls prevented him from seeing what was going on. He did not see any sparks shoot up from where the fight was going on however, and assumed Krum had won.

He then resumed his search and walked down a path that had just become available to him when the walls shifted again. He knew he was now in a part of the maze he had not seen before and hoped it would produce better results than the last one. Harry had been walking for a few minutes when he heard a scream coming from very close by. He started running towards the scream and when he turned the next corner saw what had caused it.

Cedric Diggory was in a violent battle with an acromantula, and the giant spider was winning. Cedric had been knocked to the ground and the acromantula had him pinned down, its huge fangs ready to strike and release their venom into its victim. Cedric could hardly move and his wand appeared to have been knocked out of his hand and out of reach.

Harry reacted immediately and jumped into battle to save the older champion who had become his friend. A strong cutting curse aimed at one of the spider's legs severed it in half and drew a pained hissing noise from the beast. Its attention turned towards Harry and as it approached him Cedric was able to free himself and crawl away towards his wand.

"Conjuctivitus!" Harry said as he pointed his wand towards the acromantula's many eyes. When the curse hit the spider's eyes it howled in pain and frustration because it could no longer see. Cedric took advantage of the creature's attention towards Harry and hit one of its back legs with a strong Reducto that shattered the appendage and left it useless. Harry's next spell was one that would almost certainly be considered dark if it had been used on a human being, but he had no problems using it on a spider. "Cruormorsus!" he called, causing a dull orange spell to fly towards and hit the spider. As it did the acromantula's blood became slightly acidic, causing the beast to violently shake in pain. Harry held the spell for a few seconds longer and soon the animal was curled up in a ball making strange cries of pain.

"I think you beat it, Harry." Cedric said as he walked over to the other champion. Harry had stopped the spell, but the animal was still clearly in excruciating pain.

"I wasn't sure what that spell would do. Now I feel a little bad about using it, even on an acromantula." Harry said softly. He then walked towards the spider and cast another cutting curse, this time on its neck. The spider died immediately. "It would have died anyway, I just hope I saved it a little pain." he explained.

"I understand. It was the nice thing to do." Cedric agreed. He then turned his back towards Harry to look around the maze, still trying to figure out which way he wanted to go. "This tournament is pretty crazy, huh?"

"I'd say so." Harry answered. For a moment neither of them said anything else, but then Harry decided it was time to leave. "Hey Cedric..."

"Yeah Harry?"

"I'm sorry about this."

"Huh?" Cedric said as he turned his head back towards Harry. He immediately saw that Harry had his wand pointed at him, but Cedric had no time to draw his wand and defend himself. Harry silently cast Stupefy and his fellow Hogwart's champion dropped to the ground as soon as the spell hit him. Harry almost felt bad about this, but figured he had done enough to help Cedric by saving him from the acromantula. Besides, what he did wasn't against the rules. He shot sparks into the air so that someone would come and help his friend before leaving the area behind him.

It was only minutes later that Harry turned another corner that looked like countless others he had seen in the past few hours, but this time something was different. The corner led to a long straight hallway and at the end the path the Triwizard Cup was softly glowing as it stood on a pedestal. Harry grinned in excitement, he was finally at the end! He began running towards the Cup and realized a moment later that it was good he was running because the maze's walls began to crash down around him. Harry ran as fast as he could and was only barely able to keep ahead of the falling bushes that threatened to crush him. When he reached the clearing at the end of the path he took a moment to catch his breath before walking up to the Triwizard Cup.

The trophy itself was beautiful and Harry thought with a smile that it would look good hanging up in his dorm room. As he reached towards it he stopped with his fingers only inches away from the Cup. He could feel magic flowing off of it, but he was unable to identify what spells had been cast on it from the feel alone. He paused, wondering if this was some trick and not really the Triwizard Cup. Unfortunately he had no way to know for sure. It certainly looked like the Triwizard Cup. Harry cast the diagnostic charms he knew on the cup and was able to determine that it had not been poisoned and there were not any deadly curses placed on it, but beyond that he was clueless.

After a few moments he decided that he had no choice but to take the Triwizard Cup and see what happened. Taking one final breath to prepare himself, Harry grabbed the cup and immediately felt a familiar pulling sensation at his navel.

"A portkey!" he said in realization as he vanished. Harry had never liked traveling by portkey, but remembered the tips he had heard on how to land safely unlike his last journey by portkey. Even so when he landed he dropped down to a knee and immediately had his wand out ready to face anything. He was still surprised by what he saw...

"HARRY POTTER WINS THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT!" Ludo Bagman's voice called out as the crowd erupted into cheers so loud that Harry was tempted to put his hands over his ears to protect himself from them. He looked around and saw that the portkey had dropped him on a huge stage that had been erected in front of the maze's entrance. Fleur Delacour was seated in a chair towards the back of the stage looking quite unhappy. Harry then noticed that Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum were both being led out of the maze and towards the stage. Krum also looked disappointed, but Cedric was surprisingly laughing as he looked at Harry. Harry smiled back, happy that Cedric apparently didn't hold any hard feeling towards him for what happened in the maze.

"Congratulations, Harry." Cedric said after leaping onto the stage. "But that was still a dirty trick you used."

"I know, but I said I was sorry." Harry reminded him as they both started laughing about it. Krum calmly climbed the steps to the stage and nodded slightly in Harry's direction. Harry shrugged and decided that was as much of a congratulations as he was going to get from the Durmstrang champion. The crowd, meanwhile, had not quieted down in the least. The cheers only became louder when Harry proudly raised the Triwizard Cup over his head for all to see. As he did he scanned the crowd looking for his friends. Eventually he found them and saw that they were all excitedly waving at him and cheering.

"Come, Harry. There is still much to be done." Ludo Bagman said from behind him. Harry nodded and walked towards the podium that Bagman had positioned himself behind. Another tournament official was motioning for him to place the Triwizard cup on a small stand in front of him and Harry happily did so. They had to wait several minutes for the cheering to die down so that Bagman could begin the presentation, but eventually he did.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today is a monumental day for our world." Bagman began. Harry looked at the older man curiously. His normal speaking voice was excited and spontaneuous, but he was now talking in an odd monotone and as if he were reading from a script. "Truly, a day for the history books. You, Harry Potter, are more important than you realize."

The crowd continued to cheer. They, apparently, did not share Harry's concern that something felt a bit off about the whole situation.

"You will bear witness. You shall see the rise of the greatest wizard of our age." Bagman continued. He then pulled a galleon out of his pocket and turned towards Harry. "Tonight, the Dark Lord lives again!" Bagman then thrust the galleon towards Harry and as it touched him Harry once again felt the odd pull at his navel which he knew meant the coin was a portkey, this time definitely not one taking him to a safe location. In the brief moment before he disappeared, Harry looked into Bagman's eyes. They were dull, emotionless, and looked slightly clouded over.

'The imperius curse!' Harry was able to think before he vanished.

In those few short moments the cheers of the crowd turned to screams and panic. This only escalated when Ludo Bagman pointed his wand in the air and yelled "Morsmordre!", causing the dark mark to appear in the sky. The first one to act was actually Cedric Diggory, who promptly knocked Bagman unconscious with a stunner to the back. Aurors and Professor Dumbledore rushed to the stage, but by that time there was little they could do.

Harry Potter was gone, and they had no idea where he could possibly be.

* * *

Author's Note:

So, what did you think of the third task? I think I dropped enough hints earlier that there was something going on with Bagman, and this was a new way to get him to Voldemort's resurrection party. Yes, Cedric lives. I think the character has potential and would like to keep him around for a while.

Anyhow, hope you guys liked it. Thanks for reading and please review.


	21. Chapter 21

* * *

Harry's second portkey journey of the day was much longer and more disorienting than the first. He felt his body spun around as if he were in some kind of magical tornado which seemed to never stop. Finally he felt the spinning slow and knew he was approaching his destination. Harry concentrated on holding on to his wand and hoped he would be able to land on his feet, but as the portkey dropped him he rolled on the hard ground before finally coming to a stop. As he lay there Harry tried to reactivate the portkey, but it was no use. Bagman had given him a one way portkey, meaning he would have to find another way home. Pushing himself to a standing position, Harry desperately tried to fight off the dizziness as he looked around trying to figure out where the portkey had taken him

He was in a cemetery, Harry realized at once. He had walked past cemeteries before and knew what they were supposed to look like, but this one seemed completely wrong to him. The headstones marking the graves were mostly old and crumbling, and instead of being arranged in neat rows they had apparently been placed randomly. The grounds were not covered with freshly cut green grass but hard rocks and dirt with only a few sickly weeds sticking up through the ground. None of the graves had flowers placed near them, leading Harry to think that perhaps no one had come here in quite a long time.

The sound of footsteps approaching quickly proved that he was wrong. Harry quickly turned towards the direction the footsteps were coming from and saw two figures approaching him, each wearing dark cloaks that covered their faces. One was small, fat, and appeared to be carrying something like a parent would hold a baby. The other was taller, thinner, and his head had the habit of jerking from side to side as if looking for threats. Suddenly Harry felt a painful burning in his scar and he knew without a doubt what, or rather who, was being carried towards him.

"Seize him." a strange, almost inhuman, voice called out from the bundle that the fat man was carrying. The taller man stepped forward with his wand held ready before pulling back the hood of his cloak to reveal his face.

"Barty Crouch Junior." Harry said in recognition as he raised his wand to face the older man. That would mean that the shorter man was almost definitely Peter Pettigrew.

"Correct, Mr Potter. Ten points to Gryffindor." he answered with an insane chuckle. "There'll be no one to come and rescue you now. I suggest you just give up, it will be far less painful that way."

"Go to hell, Barty." Harry said as he silently cast a bone breaking curse at the man who had once impersonated Alastor Moody. Crouch was able to sidestep the spell fairly easily and sent a body bind curse at Harry, apparently attempting to capture him as he was ordered. Harry brought up a shield which was easily able to absorb the energy of Crouch's curse and then began trying to lure Crouch away from the others. Wormtail seemed to be focused on protecting whatever form Voldemort had taken that was now laying in his arms, but Harry knew he would have to keep an eye on them.

Crouch's next spell was, surprisingly, a Stupefy. Harry almost laughed at this because he realized that he held an advantage over his opponent. Crouch, for whatever reason, was trying to subdue him without injuring him. Harry did not have to worry about trying to avoid hurting Crouch, in fact he wanted to do so.

Harry sent a series of chained spells at Crouch including a Incendio, a Confundus, a Jelly-Legs jinx, and ended with a spell that produced hurricane force winds. The first two spells missed and Crouch was just barely able to raise a shield against the Jelly-Legs jinx but he was caught completely off guard by Harry's wind spell. Crouch's magical shield was unable to stop the physical force of the wind and he was hurled back several feet and landed painfully on his back. Unlike their first battle, Harry was now casting completely silently and with much more power than he was previously capable of.

Crouch began rolling as soon as he hit the ground and was, luckily for him, able to avoid Harry's follow up curses. He was quickly growing frustrated by his situation and the fact that this mere boy was beating him. With a pained grunt Crouch leapt to his feet and screamed "Crucio!", hoping that he would not only catch his opponent of guard but that his master would not be too angry with him.

Harry, however, was prepared for the Death Eater's use of an Unforgivable curse and conjured a stone shield to appear in front of him. Crouch's Cruciatus curse struck the wall and shattered it, but in doing so the spell's energy was spent and it died harmlessly. Before the stone pieces could hit the ground Harry banished them back at Crouch and was happy to hear the man yelp in surprise and pain.

"Damn you, Potter!" Crouch roared as he angrily raised his wand again. Harry saw with a brief smile of satisfaction that he had his enemy frustrated and off guard, but unfortunately this had caused Crouch to abandon his earlier plan to capture Harry unharmed. "Reducto!" Crouch shouted, causing Harry to jump to the side in order to avoid the powerful spell. Harry's wand never left Crouch as he avoided the spell, and as soon as he had the chance Harry returned fire. This time he did say the name of the spell out loud because he wanted Crouch to hear what was coming, after all he was the one who had taught it to him.

"Inficio!" Harry called as a sickly yellow light erupted from the tip of his wand. Crouch's eyes widened in surprise as he tried to avoid the spell but he wasn't quick enough and it caught him on the hip. Immediately his cloak began to disintegrate and the skin below bubbled as if it were melting. He was barely able to contain his screams enough to perform the counter curse which still left behind a nasty looking wound.

"Use my spell against me, will you?!" Crouch yelled in rage. "Avada Kedavra!" The Killing Curse flew towards Harry and he reacted on instict by conjuring another stone wall to shield himself. This time the impact of the spell turned his shield into dust instead of pebbles like the Cruciatus curse had done.

"Barty, you fool!" Voldemort screamed from his spot on the sidelined. "I need him alive!"

"Forgive me, master." Crouch answered, although his eyes never left Harry. "I shall not fail you again." Harry had briefly glanced over and even from far away could see that Voldemort had been able to take some, small physical shape. Which meant that he could be destroyed by his touch like Quirrel had been in his first year at Hogwarts. He only needed to get past Crouch and close enough to Voldemort to grab him...

"Stupefy!" Crouch called, bringing Harry's attention back to the duel. Harry in response raised his most powerful shield and began running towards his opponent. Crouch began rapidly firing non-lethal spells at Harry but his shield was far too strong to be broken by any of the simple spells he was using. Before he knew it Harry had almost completely closed the distance between them and Crouch hesitated, not sure if Harry was trying to physically or magically attack him. A mere moment before Harry reached Crouch he dropped his shield and began casting the strongest blasting curse he could manage. By the time he completed the spell the tip of his wand was inches away from Crouch's chest and the man had no chance at all to do anything to lessen the impact of the curse. The powerful spell sent Crouch flying through the air and across the cemetery. He was only stopped when he hit a large headstone which broke in half from the impact. He was immediately knocked unconscious.

Harry watched this happen and felt a small amount of shock. He didn't think he had put that much power into the spell, but apparently it was enough. Harry briefly wondered if Crouch had survived the crash. He hadn't noticed, however, that his charge towards Crouch had brought him alarmingly close to Wormtail and Voldemort. He never even saw the stunner that hit him in the back coming.

"Good, Wormtail. Now we can begin." Voldemort said with a chilling laugh.

* * *

Meanwhile, the panic at Hogwarts had not died down any. The Dark Mark still hung menacingly in the air, constantly reminding everyone what had happened. Most of the spectators had remained in their seats even though the tournament had ended. Many stayed to discuss whether or not the Dark Lord could or would return, others stayed because they expected something else to happen.

Harry's friends attempted to get as much information from their teachers as was possible, but in truth no one seemed to really know what was going on. All they could determine for sure was that Ludo Bagman had been taken into custody and was now being interrogated in Professor Dumbledore's office by the Aurors and the Headmaster himself.

Bagman's questioning started with an examination of his left arm, where to some surprise they did not find the Dark Mark. Further inspection revealed signs that Bagman had been under the Imperius curse very recently and was therefore probably not responsible for his actions. After being awoken and dosed with Veritaserum he revealed that he could not remember anything he had said on stage after Harry's victory, nor did he know who had placed the Imperius curse on him or where the portkey had taken Harry.

These revelations meant that there was no easy way to find Harry. Unless they got very lucky it would be up to Harry to find his way home.

* * *

The first thing Harry noticed when he woke up was that he could not move his arms or legs. His eyes slowly opened and saw that he was tied up and he had no idea where his wand was. He knew he had made a mistake and lost track of Wormtail during his fight with Crouch. He would've kicked himself if he could have moved his legs. Harry tried to think of how he was going to get out of this situation, but so far nothing came to mind.

Looking around, Harry saw that Barty Crouch Junior's unconscious body was still slumped against the broken headstone where he had fallen. Crouch appeared to still be breathing, indicating he must have survived the impact. Harry felt a small bit of relief when he saw that, even though he knew it was probably a foolish thing to do in this situation. Voldemort had apparently decided it wasn't worth the effort to heal Crouch yet. With Harry tied up the Dark Lord must not have felt that his adversary was much of a threat. Wormtail, meanwhile was busy watching over a huge cauldron that was full of some dark, bubbling, liquid. Harry wasn't sure what the potion was for, but he knew it was not a good sign.

"It's ready, my lord." Wormtail said humbly.

"Begin at once." the ugly creature that was Voldemort replied. Wormtail nodded and carefully picked up his master before placing him in the cauldron. The potion inside hissed as sparks shot from it and the liquid inside began to swirl around violently, but after a few moments it calmed down and Wormtail continued with the ritual.

"Bone of the father... unknowingly given... you will renew your son." Wormtail said. As he spoke he lifted what Harry assumed was a human leg bone and dropped it into the cauldron. The potion bubbled again and turned an ugly blue color. Wormtail paused to check on the potion as if he was unsure he had done it correctly but when he had assured himself he had he continued. It was clear from his words what he intended to do. Harry knew without a doubt he was watching a ritual meant to return Voldemort from his body.

Harry struggled to free himself and stop the dark ritual, but it was no use. He still could not move. He began trying to think of a way to disrupt the ritual but was unsure what he could do. His only hope was to get Wormtail to end it himself.

"Flesh of the servant... willingly given... you will revive your master." Wormtail said as he lifted up a knife and placed it at his wrist. He was a moment away from slicing it off when Harry interrupted him.

"Peter, stop!" Harry yelled. "Please don't do this."

"It's too late for that, Harry." Wormtail answered and raised the knife again.

"You don't have to do this!" Harry replied, still hoping that the man would change his mind.

"But I do. I have no choice, you see. If I don't do this he will kill me."

"I saved your life! You owe me." Harry said, but he knew his words were having little impact.

"It doesn't work that way." Wormtail then turned away placed the knife on his wrist once again. He closed his eyes as if trying to work up the courage to go through with the act and then, with all his strength, pushed the blade through the flesh and bone of his arm. When he was done his entire hand dropped into the cauldron and he howled in pain. The potion, meanwhile, continued to simmer but had now turned a red color much like blood. Wormtail took a minute to compose himself before continuing the ritual.

"Blood of the enemy... forcibly taken... you will resurrect your foe." the Death Eater said as he approached Harry. He still held in his hand the ritual knife he had been using and Harry knew Wormtail had come for his blood.

"Don't do it, Peter. Please." Harry said, but Wormtail was now ignoring him. He drew the knife and plunged it into Harry's arm as Harry fought to not scream out in pain. The tip of Wormtail's knife was now coated with Harry's blood, and he held it carefully as if it contained some priceless treasure. Wormtail walked over to the cauldron and lightly flicked the knife at it, spilling a few drops of Harry's blood into the concoction. It immediately began to spark and bubble like never before, eventually turning a blinding white color. Wormtail began stepping away from the potion as if he where afraid of it, but his eyes never left it. Harry's attention never left the cauldron either and for a brief moment he held hope that something had gone wrong. But then he felt pain from his scar like never before, and knew that somehow Wormtail and Barty Crouch Junior had returned Lord Voldemort to his body.

A moment later a dark form began to rise out of the cauldron. It was bald, pale, and covered in a dark cloak. Although it's form was human, Harry thought it looked more like some dark creature. The creature held its head in its hands as it rose out of the still bubbling potion. When he was finally free Voldemort pulled his hands away from his face and to look at them, giving Harry his first clear look at what the Dark Lord had become.

Voldemort looked nothing like the teenage version of Tom Riddle Harry had encountered in the chamber of secrets. He had been a rather handsome young man with dark hair and pale skin. The monster now standing before Harry had skin that was almost grey and no hair at all. It's face only looked vaguely human, with a flat nose and bright red eyes. The Dark Lord spent a moment examining himself carefully as if looking for flaws in his form before turning to face Harry and sending him a cruel smile.

"Come, Wormtail." he commanded.

"Yes, master." his servant answered as he scampered towards Voldemort. He then knelt and held out a wand towards his master. "Your wand, my lord" Voldemort reached out and grabbed the wand. As his finger touched it his twisted face took on an expression of triumph.

"Your arm." Voldemort demanded.

"Thank you master!" Wormtail exclaimed as he happily held out his stump of an arm.

"Your other arm." Voldemort clarified. Wormtail gasped in surprise, but obediently held out his other wand. Even from far away Harry could see that Wormtail's Dark Mark was now as black as night and perfectly visible. Voldemort pressed his wand into his servant's arm as the other man winced in pain but said nothing. Moments later men in full Death Eater's robes began apparating into the cemetery. Each of them wore masks that covered their faces so Harry was unable to see who had come. One thing was clear however: his odds of escaping had dropped dramatically.

The Death Eaters stood in a circle surrounding Voldemort as he looked around inspecting them. Harry could not tell if he was happy with what he found or not, but the Death Eaters seemed to be nervous. As the Dark Lord began speaking they all dropped to a knee, as if before royalty.

"After all these years, my friends, we have been reunited." Voldemort began. "And yet I must wonder, where were all of you when I needed you the most? For years I was trapped somewhere between life and death, and none of you searched for me."

"I did, my lord." Wormtail bravely, or perhaps foolishly said.

"Out of fear, not loyalty. I suppose you do deserve some reward for your efforts however. Hold out your arm." Voldemort ordered and Wormtail gratefully complied. Using a spell that Harry did not recognize, Voldemort conjured a magical silver hand to appear where Wormtail's had been. Wormtail held up the hand and stared at it in awe. Voldemort meanwhile was looking at his wand with a confused expression on his face, as if something had happened he did not expect. A moment later the look was gone and he was once again standing before his followers.

"Where were you Avery? Or you, Goyle? Crabbe? Nott? And what of you, Malfoy?" Voldemort asked. Harry sat and listened, though he was not at all surprised to see it confirmed that Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater.

"My lord..." Malfoy began to plead pathetically, "I was constantly on the alert. Had there been any sign, any whisper-"

"Quiet, Lucius." Voldemort said forcefully, and Malfoy knew better than to continue. "There will be time to make up for past failures later. Now we must be suitable hosts and attend to our guest." With that he pointed at Harry who was still tied up and bleeding from his arm. Harry could hear the Death Eaters laughing from behind their masks at his predicament. Voldemort began walking towards him as he spoke, and was soon standing right in front of him. "The world was foolish enough to think that this mere child had destroyed the most powerful wizard of all time. It was not he that defeated me that night, but a mistake on my part. Old magic was at work that night, powerful magic. I did recognize it then, but I do now. And I have overcome it. Believe me Harry, I can touch you now." With that Voldemort pressed his finger into Harry's forehead where his famous scar lay. The pain Harry felt in that moment eclipsed anything else he had ever experienced.

"Now Harry, we shall see if the Boy-Who-Lived can truly stand against Lord Voldemort." the Dark Lord said with a sneer. "Wormtail, untie him. And give him his wand." Wormtail rushed to obey his master, and soon Harry was free with his wand in his hand. Harry nervously looked around and knew full well that he was surrounded by potential threats as well as face to face with one of the world's most powerful wizards. Voldemort looked like he was preparing to continue his speech, but Harry thought his best option was to get on the offensive and stay on it as long as he could.

Harry began casting and moving as quickly and as powerfully as he could. Even Professor Flitwick would have been proud of him if he had been there. The chain of spells he used was one he had come up with months earlier and practiced constantly. It included piercing hexes, tripping jinxes, cutting curses, Crouch's acid spell, bone breaking curses, a tickling charm, a cutting curse, a charm that caused boils to break out on its victims face, and ended with a massive Bombarda. But even though Harry was casting at his best nothing seemed to get past Voldemort's defenses. Everything he threw at the Dark Lord was either blocked by conjured or summoned items or simply avoided. When the dust cleared from his last spell, which had been powerful enough to leave a small crater in the ground, Lord Voldemort was still standing there laughing at him.

"I'm impressed, Harry." Voldemort said. "Perhaps you should rethink the offer I made to you years ago. Join me and I will help you reach your full potential."

"Never!" Harry responded angrily. He then transfigured two headstones into massive bears which he sent to attack Voldemort, but before they could reach him the Dark Lord had destroyed them with two lazy swipes of his wand.

"You still have much to learn. A pity you won't get the chance." Voldemort taunted.

Harry wasn't sure what do. Despite all of his training and his relatively easy victory over Barty Crouch Junior he was still clearly not in Voldemort's league. Gathering his courage, Harry went back on attack. He decided that he would have to use his deadliest spells and so cast "Cruormorsus", the same spell he had used against the acromantual in the maze. Voldemort was finally forced to raise a shield to defend himself, but when he did something very strange happened. Beams of pure magic stretched from each of their wands, connecting them. As they did Harry felt a strong drain on his magical reserves and knew he could not keep this, whatever it was, up for very long. Voldemort was distracted by this unexpected phenomenon, and Harry saw his chance to strike.

Harry ended the spell just as it started to form a dome above him and quickly fired off a cutting curse towards Voldemort's head. The Dark Lord had been distracted by what had happened and tried to side step the spell but was only partially successful. A long cut opened up on Voldemort's cheek and blood began to trickle down to his chin. Voldemort roared in anger and then finally began attacking Harry. Harry used his speed to avoid the first wave of spells, but as he tried to jump behind a headstone was struck with the Cruciatus curse.

Harry screamed as Voldemort held the torture curse on him. He had felt the curse before during his fight with Barty Crouch Junior, but the Death Eater's version of the spell felt lick a tickling charm when compared to Voldemort's Cruciatus. The pain coursed through every part of his body and Harry felt as if he were on verge of going insane. A moment later Voldemort lifted the spell and Harry could hear the evil man laughing at his suffering.

"So this is all the great Harry Potter can manage? Pathetic." Voldemort laughed. "I think I shall send your head back to Dumbledore. What do you think of that, Harry?"

"No good." Harry gasped. "He likes socks." The Dark Lord chuckled at Harry's response and slightly lowered his wand. Harry's trembling fingers closed tightly around his wand which he had almost dropped during his torture at the hands of Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord took a step back and motioned for Harry to stand up.

"Get up, Harry. You do want to meet death on your feet, don't you?" Voldemort said. Harry had been slowly making his way to a standing position anyway and a moment later was finally able to stand and face the Dark Lord. Harry looked around for some last minute way to save himself, but could find nothing. He was still completely surrounded and no help was coming.

'I'm going to die here.' Harry thought with sad laugh. His little chuckle soon turned into an audible laugh which had the Death Eaters thinking that perhaps Lord Voldemort's Cruciatus had driven the Boy-Who-Lived insane after all.

"You think death is funny, do you?" Voldemort asked as he raised his wand towards Harry. Finally Harry stopped laughing and raised his wand to face the Dark Lord. "Any last words?"

"Screw you, Tom." Harry said with another laugh. Voldemort, furious with Harry's use of his true name, yelled out "Avada Kedavra" and sent the killing curse flying towards Harry who was able to leap out of the way. Around them the Death Eaters, fearing that a stray killing curse could catch them unprepared, began to search for cover. Harry returned fire with a "Reducto", but Voldemort was easily able to avoid it. The Dark Lord then cast another killing curse, but Harry was able to conjure a rock wall to shield him from the spell. The shield exploded when the curse hit it, but Harry didn't wait for the dust to clear before banishing a conjured spear back towards Voldemort. When the dust settled it was clear he had missed, but he had no time to think about it because Voldemort sent yet another killing curse his way.

Harry leapt to the side to avoid the curse, but unfortunately Voldemort had been expecting that and had summoned a headstone which slammed into Harry's side and knocked him off balance. Before Harry could recover Voldemort had cast the killing curse again. Harry's eyes widened as he saw the green spell speeding towards him. In that moment he knew he couldn't avoid it, and that he had been beaten.

The impact of the spell knocked Harry off of his feet and sent him spinning to the ground. When he landed Voldemort stood victorious over Harry and looked down at his unmoving body. Below him, Harry's lifeless eyes lay open and staring off into the distance.

* * *

Back at Hogwarts, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge had arrived and taken the stage in an attempt to calm the audience and look for a way in which he could take advantage of the situation for his own political benefit. With his hearing on the Sirius Black case only a day away Fudge was getting desperate to find a way to remain in office. He knew the last thing the public wanted to hear was that You-Know-Who was still alive and so he spent his time on stage promising that the Dark Lord was dead and that there was no way he could ever come back. Some people seemed eager to believe him, but others weren't convinced.

Ludo Bagman had been transferred to the Ministry of Magic for further questioning. It seemed clear that he would not face charges for his actions due to the evidence pointing towards the Imperius curse. He was however immediately fired from his position with the Ministry and rumors were beginning to circulate that the goblins had demanded he be turned over to them after his release to face punishment for crimes against them.

Harry's friends did not give up searching for more information, but unfortunately they continued to find nothing new.

Meanwhile Dumbledore sat alone in his office wondering what he could have done differently, and what it would mean if Harry died. One thing was clear: dark days lay ahead.

* * *

Harry eyes popped open and he sat up, wondering what had happened. Upon seeing his surroundings however, he also wondered where he was. A strange whimper caught his attention and he turned to look in that direction. He saw a a strange creature that reminded him of what Voldemort had been before the ritual to return him to his body, but Harry had no idea what it meant. Around him the world was completely white and without definition, and the blankness of his surroundings seemed to go one forever.

"Harry." a gentle female voiced called out, seemingly from all around him.

"Hello?" Harry asked. "Who's there?" As he continued to look around he finally saw two forms approaching him in the distance. As they drew closer he saw that one was man and the other was a woman. They appeared to be holding hands and slowly walking towards him. After what felt like hours to Harry, they finally got close enough that he could see them clearly.

"Mom? Dad?" Harry said uncertainly. "Is that really you?" Finally they were close enough for him to be sure, and when he was he ran to them and allowed them to wrap him into a strong hug. Harry could not help but begin crying as he held on to his parents for the first time he could remember. For a long time they hugged and did not speak, and for that time Harry's questions about what was happening seemed unimportant to him.

"It's ok, Harry." his mother reassured him. "It's really us. Well, as real as it can be."

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Harry asked. "Does that mean I get to stay here with you?"

"You aren't exactly dead, son." his father informed him. "But you aren't exactly alive either. You have a choice, Harry. You can die, or you can go back."

"What if I want to stay with you?" Harry replied. The emotions from meeting his parents were still overwhelming.

"We have some things to explain to you first." Lily answered. "We love you very much Harry, but it is important that you go back."

"Why?" Harry asked, clearly upset.

"Because of Voldemort." James said, and glanced over to the ugly creature that Harry had noticed when he first arrived. "Voldemort has tried to make himself immortal, and that is how."

"What is it?" Harry asked, looking over at the creature his dad had pointed at.

"It's a piece of his soul." Lily answered. "He accidently transferred it to you the night we died. It is why your scar hurts whenever he is around. It's called a Horcrux, Harry, and as long it is still alive Voldemort can not truly be killed."

"But if I die it does too, right?" Harry guessed. "So I can't go back."

"That piece will die even if you do go back." James said. "But that isn't the only piece of his soul that needs to be destroyed. He's made others, and it up to you to find them."

"Why me? Why not Dumbledore, he's stronger than I am." Harry replied.

"There was a prophecy made before you were born. Dumbledore never told us exactly what it said, but it meant that either you or Neville Longbottom would have defeat Voldemort. Things have changed since then, and it's clear that it has to be you." Lily said sadly.

"But how? He's better than me-"

"No!" James yelled. "He may be stronger, but he is not better than you."

"He is stronger. And if I do get back to my body I am still going to be surrounded by Voldemort and his Death Eaters with no way to escape. Then, if by some miracle I do escape, I have no idea where to look for his Horcruxes." Harry said in frustration. He simply did not see a way to make it work.

"We will help you, Harry." Lily said softly. "Or to be more precise, we will force Voldemort to help you."

"How?" Harry asked.

"That piece of his soul he put inside you contained all of his personality and intellect right up until the moment he separated it from the rest of his soul. We can take parts out and give them to you." James said with a proud smile, as if it had been his idea.

"So you can just give me all of his knowledge?" Harry said, realizing how this could help him.

"Not exactly." Lily replied. "You see it's impossible to seperate his personality from the things he knows, so the more information we take out of him and put in you the more of his personality will also get transferred. If you took everything you would basically become him."

"So what do I get?" Harry asked.

"Everything he knows about his Horcruxes. That way you should be able to make him mortal again and then kill him." Lily explained. "And then his knowledge on how to apparate. Use that to escape the cemetery and make it back to Hogwarts. Those are the only things we dare pull from him."

"This is going to change my personality isn't it? How much?

"We're not taking much, so it shouldn't even be noticable." James answered. "We're trying to be as careful as we can."

"Ok then. I'll do it." Harry said finally. "Do I have to go now?"

"Yes, I'm sorry but you do." Lily said with tears in her eyes. She pulled Harry and her husband into another hug which they happily returned. "You'll see us again one day, Harry. But hopefully not for many more years. Never forget that we love you very much."

"I love you too Mom, and you Dad." Harry replied. Soon they were all crying and holding each other. They stayed this way for a few moments, but then Harry felt everything start to change. He felt like he was being pulled away from them by some undeniable force. His parents let go of him and began waving good-bye, but his vision was starting to cloud and he could no longer see them clearly. Then everything suddenly went black.

* * *

The first thing Harry felt when he returned to his body was the dull ache that came as a result from the Cruciatus curse. He knew in that moment that he was alive again. He laid there for a minute listening to Voldemort give a speech about his plans for world domination and hoping no one had seen his eyes close. Harry expected someone to point out at any moment that he was still alive, but all attention was apparently still on Voldemort.

Harry finally got the courage to slightly open his eyes and glance around. The Death Eater were all facing away from him and towards the Dark Lord in such a way that only Voldemort could possibly notice that his eyes were open. He noticed with a small amount of surprise that no one had bothered to take his wand out of his hand, apparently they were convinced he was dead.

His parents had told him to apparate out, and when Harry concentrated on the subject he realized he knew almost everything about it. He even knew that he could apparate to a standing position from laying on the ground where he was. Voldemort had studied apparition extensively. Harry wondered what chaos he could cause before leaving when he noticed that Wormtail was standing at the back of the group being ignored by everyone. He had already dropped to the lowest spot on the Death Eater hiearchy. Grinning, a plan quickly came together in his head.

Harry watched and waited for his chance. Finally Voldemort ended his speech to the cheers of his loyal followers. In that moment Harry apparated to a standing position right behind Wormtail. No one had even noticed him moving around.

"Hey Tom!" Harry yelled as he grabbed Wormtail's arm. "Did anyone ever tell you that you suck at that spell?" The Death Eaters turned and stared at him in shock. Voldemort was equally surprised but had the presence of mind to raise his wand at Harry. He was too late though. Before anyone could stop him Harry had apparated both himself and Wormtail out of the cemetery and back to Hogwarts.

* * *

Minister Fudge was still on stage talking to the audience, however when he asked if they had any questions he had been forced into defending himself regarding the accusations he would face at his hearing the next day. It was an uncomfortable position for him and he was desperate to escape it.

"I will answer all of these questions tomorrow." Fudge promised. "But let me assure you of a few things. Sirius Black is guilty and Peter Pettigrew is dead."

As soon as he spoke those words Harry appeared on the stage with Wormtail who was still in shock from seeing Harry alive. Harry stunned the traitor as soon as they arrived and then began looking around. Most of the crowd was still in the stands and had burst into applause as soon as he appeared. The Dark Mark in the sky had faded but was still visible.

"He's back." Harry said to the Minister of Magic, but Fudge chose to turn his head in disbelief. Angered by this, Harry ripped the sleeve of off Wormtail's robes, exposing the dark mark below. "Voldemort is back!" he yelled, but this time it was loud enough for those in the audience to hear. Soon everyone knew what Harry had claimed and were struggling with whether or not to believe it.

Harry was able to watch the Aurors take Wormtail into custody before the exhaustion caught up with him and collapsed right in the middle of the stage.

* * *

Author's Note:

There are quite a few important points in this one that I hope you catch. I've been thinking about this scene since I started this story and I hope you like the way it turned out. Either way, please let me know. Thanks!


	22. Chapter 22

Harry awoke to the all too familiar sensations of lying in a hospital bed in the Hogwart's infirmary. He was still tired, very tired in fact. His eyes were closed and he felt that it would take a massive effort to open them. Even with his eyes closed he could feel that someone was holding his hand and tightly squeezing it, he just hoped it was Daphne. Gathering his strength, Harry turned his head and opened his eyes to look at the person holding his hand.

Daphne's eyes were red from crying and the tears had left little tracks falling down her cheeks. Her long blonde hair was a mess and Harry guessed that she had been playing with it as she often did when she was worried or nervous. When Daphne saw Harry move she practically jumped into the bed with him to assure herself that he was ok.

"It's ok, Daphne. I'm ok." Harry told her.

"When you disappeared I thought you were going to die." she said softly. Harry decided that moment might not be the best one to tell her that he actually had died, in a way.

"I'm right here, still alive." he assured her. She nodded and curled up next to him in the bed with her head on his chest. Harry took the chance to look around the room and saw that Hermione and Neville were seated in chairs against the wall watching. They both had large smiles on their face, happy to see that Harry was awake and ok but Hermione looked like she had been crying as well. Unfortunately Harry and Daphne's short conversation had been enough to attract the attention of Madam Pomfrey who Harry knew would be eager to examine him.

"Back again, are you Mr Potter?" Madame Pomfrey said gently. "I'm sorry to break this up Ms Greengrass, but I really must insist that you let me attempt to heal him. Daphne sighed and squeezed Harry one last time before getting off of the bed. Harry had felt his energy slowly returning to him since he woke up and was able to sit up in the bed without a problem. He saw that he was still wearing the same robes he had worn in the final task of the tournament and his battle at the cemetery. They were covered with a mixture of dirt, sweat, and blood and Harry thought that he probably smelled awful.

"How long was I out?" Harry asked, knowing that someone would have changed his clothes if he were in the infirmary for long.

"You were brought into the infirmary about a half hour ago." Madam Pomfrey informed him. "We decided to let you sleep, but now that you are up I am guessing you might want a potion for the pain. You were exposed to the Cruciatus curse, correct?" The others in the room gasped when they heard that Harry had been Crucio'd yet again.

"Yes ma'am. But it's weird, when Voldemort hit me with the curse it hurt much worse than last time but now it doesn't hurt as much as the last one did." Harry explained. "Do you know why that is?"

"Of course. How much the spell hurts as it is being cast is mainly dependant on the strength of the wizard using the spell, but how fast a person recovers mostly depends on the strength of the victim. If you are more powerful now than you were then it would only make sense that the recovery will be easier." Madam Pomfrey told him. "Still, I do want you to take these potions and let me know if you are experiencing any other unusual pains." Harry nodded and obediently swallowed the offered potions. The dull ache that the Cruciatus had left behind lifted a little, but Harry could still feel it if he thought about it.

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey. Is there a clean shirt here I could wear?" Harry asked after smelling the robes he was wearing. He guess that they stank was absolutely correct.

"Certainly." the older witch replied before handing him a shirt from a cabinet. Harry expected her to leave and give him some privacy, but evidently she thought it would be a good idea to watch him and see if there were any injuries she had not seen before. Harry lifted the robes off over his head and placed them on the floor beside the bed and then began to lift the shirt he had on underneath it. When it was almost over his face he heard Madam Pomfrey gasp in shock.

"Is that what I think it is?" Madam Pomfrey asked, pointing at him. Harry followed her gaze and looked down at his chest. Just below his shoulder was a bright red lightning bolt shaped wound covered in dried blood. Harry knew, without a doubt, that it would leave a scar behind. Harry's friends had gathered around them and were all now looking at him in shock, knowing full well what a wound shaped like that meant.

"I can explain." Harry said, hoping he would be able to ease their worries.

"Something we would all like to hear, I'm sure." Professor Dumbledore's voice called out as he entered the room. Not for the first time, Harry wondered how it was that he always was able to make such grand entrances. The Headmaster joined the group standing around Harry's bed and looked at his new scar with interest. "I know Voldemort has returned, Harry. But I am curious to know how he accomplished this."

Harry looked around the room, noting that he would have told everyone in it what happened eventually so it was best that he do it once in front of everybody.

"The portkey took me to a cemetery. There was a grave there marked 'Thomas Riddle', so I guess it was where Voldemort's muggle family was buried. When I got there Voldemort had taken physical form, but he wasn't human. He looked like some kind of ugly baby demon." Harry explained. "Anyhow, I fought with Barty Crouch Junior and was able to beat him but Wormtail hit me with a stunner in the back. When I woke up Wormtail was performing a ritual to give Voldemort his body back. He took his father's bone, his own hand, and my blood to do it."

"Your blood, you say?" Dumbledore asked at once

"Yes, Professor." Harry confirmed. "Then Voldemort was back. He's hideous now, he doesn't look human anymore. He called his Death Eaters to the cemetery and a big group of them came. Malfoy was there, along with Crabbe and Goyle. There were two other names I think... Nott and Avery. I didn't recognize the others, they were all wearing masks."

"Those names do not come as a surprise, Harry." Dumbledore said. "They all claimed to have been under the Imperius curse at the end of the first war. Obviously, they were lying."

"After that he gave Wormtail a magical hand to replace the one he had cut off for the ritual and then told him to untie me so we could duel." Harry said. "Then we fought. I tried my hardest but I could barely even touch Voldemort. When he started fighting back I realized there wasn't much I could do to stop him. That's when he hit me with the killing curse. I'm pretty sure I died" Harry looked down at the new scar while the others reacted to the news. Daphne rushed back over to Harry's side and climbed back into bed with him while Hermione began to cry again. Neville looked very confused, meanwhile Dumbledore was nodded as if it all made sense to him.

Harry was uncertain whether or not he should explain what happened when he died. He knew it was real and that he didn't just imagine it, but what had happened was very personal to him and he felt uncomfortable sharing it. 'Dumbledore needs to hear the information I gathered though...' Harry thought, but as he did a powerful feeling of distrust towards Dumbledore struck him. Why should he spill his guts to Dumbledore, anyway? After all there was apparently a prophecy that the old man knew about but had never discussed with him. Let him be honest first! Soon though, the distrust seemed to fade away and Harry realized that he would need Dumbledore's help to defeat Voldemort.

"After I died I appeared somewhere big and white. I don't really know how else to describe it." Harry said. "My parents were there. They told me that Voldemort had kept a piece of his soul inside, but that it was dead now. There's also supposed to be prophecy about me that you should know, Professor. Before I left they gave me all I needed to know about Voldemort's soul pieces . I know what they are and where they are. They also showed me how to apparate out of the cemetery. When I got back I grabbed Wormtail and came back to Hogwarts. That's everything.

Dumbledore looked quite worried. He had hoped to not burden Harry with knowledge about the prophecy and horcruxes until he was older, but it was obviously too late to stop that now. On the bright side if the horcrux inside him had truly been destroyed then Voldemort was one step closer to being mortal.

"Are you sure you want to know the prophecy, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. "Sometimes it is easier not to know what fate has in store for us."

"I need to know." Harry demanded. Dumbledore nodded sadly in agreement.

"'The one with power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... And either must die at the hand of the other because neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.' That is the complete prophecy, Harry." Dumbledore explained. "Voldemort knows the first part of it, and it is for that reason he targeted your family so many years ago."

"How did he know about the prophecy?" Daphne asked, speaking up for the first time in the conversation. She, like the others, had not wanted to miss a single detail of Harry's story.

"A Death Eater overheard the prophecy as it was being made but was not able to listen to all of it." Dumbledore informed them. What he did not say, and did not plan on telling them, was that the Death Eater in question had been Severus Snape.

"Mom said that it could have been about Neville, too." Harry said, causing his friend's eyes to widen in shock.

"Yes, that was initially a possibility." Dumbledore confirmed. "But Voldemort has marked you with the scar on your forehead. He ensured that you are the one the prophecy speaks of." Neville visibly relaxed when he heard this. Harry nodded, he already knew there was no way he could escape his destiny.

"What now, Professor?" Harry asked. The war would be starting again now, there was really no time to waste. He would have to start finding and destroying the other horcruxes as soon as possible. Some would not be too difficult to get to, but there were some he still had no idea how he would reach. In fact, he knew of one he could get rid of before he left school without a great deal of effort.

"During the first war with Voldemort I was part of a group of people that opposed him. Your parents were a part of it, as were yours Mr Longbottom." Dumbledore said with a glance towards Neville. "For the past few months I have been contacting them in preparation for a day I hoped would not come to pass, but unfortunately now has. We will reassemble and continue the fight."

Harry nodded at Dumbledore's explanation, the Professor had not really told him anything he didn't already know or couldn't guess. He also remembered from what Daphne had told him about her family that Dumbledore had approached both her father and grandfather asking them to join his group but had been turned down on both occasions. Would Dumbledore try again? And how would Daphne's father, Daniel Greengrass, react to the 'Leader of the Light' this time around? Harry didn't know, but thought they would be important questions in the near future.

"Harry I do something to request from you." Dumbledore said, bringing Harry's attention back to their conversation. "I would like permission to view your memory of tonight's events. Perhaps it will give me some insight into Voldemort's plans." Dumbledore pulled an empty vial out of his robes and presented it to Harry.

"Ok, sir." Harry said. He had done this before and was therefore familiar with how it was done. Thinking clearly about what had happened today, including everything from the time he first entered the maze to when he reappeared on the stage with Wormtail, Harry pulled the memory out of his head and used his wand to place it in the vial. Dumbledore smiled brightly as he capped the glass tube and placed it back in his robes.

"Thank you, Harry." Dumbledore said gratefully. "I would like to discuss this after I have had a chance to view it and you have had a chance to sleep, if that is acceptable." Harry nodded at the suggestion while Dumbledores eyes twinkled. "Excellent. Then I shall leave you to rest, something that the rest of you might consider doing as well. Tomorrow promised to be an exciting day as well. Good night."

With that Dumbledore turned and walked out of the infirmary. As he left Harry wondered what Dumbledore might see in the memory that he had missed, but he would just have to wait and find out later. He turned and looked towards his friends to gauge their moods. Neville looked as if the amount of information had overwhelmed him and his mind was working overtime in an attempt to process it all. Daphne was trying her best to keep a brave face on for Harry's benefit, but he knew beneath the surface she was probably scared and worried like he was. Hermione was the hardest to figure out though. She had been shocked, like everyone else, when she heard he had been hit with another Avada Kedavra. But her shock had turned into something else. Harry stared at her for a moment, wondering what it was, and eventually it hit him. Hermione had the same look on her face that she got when she thought she did poorly on a test, although her case she almost always did better than she thought.

"Hermione," Harry said softly "Are you ok?"

"Me?" Hermione replied in surprise. "Of course. But what about you? You died tonight Harry! And we were here, doing nothing."

"There was nothing you could do, Hermione." Harry assured her. "You know that."

"No, I suppose there wasn't." Hermione agreed. "You need your rest, Harry. I'll come see you tomorrow, ok?"

"It'd be nice if they let me out of here tonight, but I guess there's no chance of that happening is there?" Harry said with a sad smile.

"No, probably not." Hermione answered. "Good night everyone." Hermione turned and walked out of the room with a look of determination on her face that Harry couldn't explain. Once again he regretted letting their friendship be overlooked the past few weeks. Once they had been so close he could tell what she was thinking just from the look on her face, but now? Now he had no idea what was going on inside her head.

"I guess I'll go, too." Neville announced. "I'm glad you're ok, Harry. Oh, and congrats on winning the tournament."

"Yeah, I guess that did kind of get overlooked." Harry said with a laugh. "Thanks, Neville." Neville nodded and turned to leave the room, leaving Harry and Daphne alone. She was still sitting on the bed next to him holding his hand. "Daphne? What's wrong?"

"I don't remember giving you permission to die, Harry Potter!" she said finally. A tear she had been holding back began to fall from her eyes as she looked at Harry. His story had obviously affected her differently than it had the others. Harry wasn't sure how to answer her, so instead he pulled her into a hug and held her.

"It's ok, Daphne. I'm fine now." Harry told her. "I'll do better next time, I promise. I won't let Voldemort hurt me, or you."

"You better not." Daphne said as she lifted her head off his shoulder. "I guess I should probably go..."

"Don't." Harry said. "Stay here with me."

"I don't think Madam Pomfrey would approve." Daphne answered.

"We're in a hospital bed in the middle of the infirmary, she will know nothing out of the ordinary is going to happen." Harry replied. "I just want you to be here with me."

"Ok, but don't act surprised when she kicks me out in an hour." Daphne said as she laid down in the bed next to her boyfriend.

"Thank you." Harry said gratefully. "Daphne, I... I love you." Harry watched to see her response, even though he had been growing more and more sure of his feelings for her over the past months he had never said it out loud. Partly because he was worried she wouldn't feel the same way. His fears were greatly eased though when he saw her smile and felt her scoot closer to him on the bed.

"I love you, too." she answered softly, but loud enough for Harry to hear. That night Harry went to sleep with a smile on his face, despite everything that had happened that day. Fifteen minutes later, Madam Pomfrey found them both asleep and cuddled up next to each other. Technically, she knew, she should tell young Ms Greengrass that visiting hours were over and she needed to leave. But Mr Potter had obviously had an awful day and would probably appreciate the company... In the end Madam Pomfrey didn't say anything and left the couple alone to rest together.

* * *

Hermione, however, did not go to bed after leaving the infirmary. Rationally she knew Harry was right and there was nothing any of them could have done to help him tonight, but that still did not help her feel any better about the fact her friend had been alone going face to face with Voldemort while surrounded by Death Eaters . Worse than that, Harry had actually been hit by the killing curse. Again. Even Harry's luck was bound to run out eventually if he kept getting into dangerous situations like that.

The war had begun again tonight, that much was certain. Harry, and all those close to him, would be targets for the reassembled Death Eaters and their master. They would need every advantage they could get their hands on. In other words, she would also need every advantage she could get to protect herself and those she cared about. Despite the training she had been doing for the past few months she knew she was not ready to face a skilled Death Eater alone and certainly not more than one. She worried for her family as well. During the first war Voldemort had a habit of attacking the homes of muggleborns even if they had done nothing to oppose him, how much more danger did her parents face because of her friendship with Harry?

'There is something I can do about it though...' she suddenly thought, but immediately tried to ignore the thought. It would not go away however. She had the knowledge and supplies needed to complete the Ritual of Heron. It was dangerous to attempt an unknown ritual, but on the other hand no one that had studied it believed it was a particularly dark ritual. She had struggled with decision since she began studying the ritual, but the bulk of her reason for wanting to do it then was to satisfy her curiosity. Now it had taken on a greater significance to her. It had come to symbolize all of her hopes of making it through the second war with Voldemort. Harry's 'death' had pushed her over the edge and convinced her that the ritual was necessary.

Hermione made a quick stop by the Gryffindor dorms to pick up the supplies she would need for the ritual. Harry had been able to conjure everything she needed, even the hard to find items. He, of course, did not know what Hermione's true reasoning had been for wanting them. The only part he could not conjure was the gold she would need and that would have to come from one of her most cherished possessions: a bracelet that her mother had given her. It saddened her to lose the bracelet, but she decided it was being used for a good purpose. After gathering everything she would need Hermione made her way to the Room of Requirement, which she had decided would be the best place to perform the ritual.

"I need a place to perform the Ritual of Heron." Hermione thought as she walked back and forth in front of the spot on the wall where the door to the Room of Requirement would appear. As she past the third time an ornate door slowly formed, just as she had expected. When she entered the room it was far different than she had expected. The floors and walls were all a dark stone instead of wood as they normally were. The room was quite small compared to what how the room normally appeared. The four walls were all approximately equal in length and Hermione guessed they were each about twenty five feet long. A single torch was placed on each wall and as a result the room was still quite dark. Seeing the intimidating room, Hermione had a moment of doubt about whether or not to go through with the ritual. But eventually her doubt faded and she proceeded with the complex ritual.

The room had evidently prepared the first step of the ritual for her. A perfectly circular ring of white sand was waiting in the center of the room, just as she needed it to be. The first step was for her to draw the nine runes in the correct order on the ring. As she drew them she thought about how it would have been impossible for her to complete this without the book she had found. For one thing the runes she was currently drawing were not actually runes at all, at least not like modern witches and wizards were taught. The runes the school taught students were of Germanic origin but these were much older Phoenician symbols, although they were used for similar purposes. This, of course, made sense to her considering the ritual itself was older than the runes she knew of.

Once she was satisfied she had drawn them properly she began placing the elements on the runes they corresponded to. This step had taken her months to finally get right, and the excitement of finally seeing it completed was indescribable. Finally they were all in place and she was ready to begin the ritual. For a moment she stood in the center of the ring looking at what she had done feeling slightly anxious about what she was about to do. As far as she knew she would be the first person in two thousand years to perform this ritual that had been heavily sought after ever since.

After a few moments Hermione decided it was time to complete the ritual and began chanting the words that were required. It was in Greek and was long enough that she had spent a week translating and memorizing. It was not a spell exactly, in fact it was worded more like a very poetic prayer asking permission to face judgment and expressing hope that they would be found worthy. Once she had finished the prayer once she began again, as the book had instructed. As she did so she pulled a small knife out of her robes and made a small cut on her hand. The blood quickly began to pool in her palm as she walked over the first rune slowly, careful not to spill any of the blood on the ground. She slowly tipped her hand over, allowing a few drops of blood to land on the rune. As soon as it landed the small amount of nickel laying on top of the rune burst into flames and was absorbed into the ring of sand. Hermione took that as a sign she had performed that part correctly and repeated it on the other runes. Soon all of the runes had been activated and all of the elements absorbed into the ring.

For a moment nothing happened and she feared that she had made a mistake, but a second later the torches on the wall went dark and the sand ring began to glow. A strong wind began to blow, but strangely none of the sand that made up the ring around her was effected. In the darkness Hermione almost missed seeing a black circle forming on the edge of the ring. It stood vertically and was completely dark, in fact the only indication it was even there was that she expected to see something in that direction and didn't. Finally the wind died down and she saw some shape moving at the center of the circle. She looked closer, trying to figure out what it was as the shape grew larger and larger. Eventually she recognized it to be a person walking towards her. That is when the realization that she had created a portal hit her, however she had no clue where it went. She was now past what the book knew about the ritual and was completely on her own.

She eventually saw that the person approaching her was a woman with bright green hair dressed in black and brown robes of a design different than any she had ever seen. The woman looked to be in her early twenties, although there was no way for her to tell if how the woman looked was actually an indication of her true age. Soon the woman was at the edge of the portal watching Hermione, but she did not step out of the portal and into the room.

"Who are you, child? And why have you opened the door between our worlds?" the woman asked gently. Even though she was asking for information, Hermione did not find her to be threatening.

"My name is Hermione Granger." she replied. "Honestly, I wasn't sure what this ritual would do. A war is starting in my world, and I was looking for a way to protect my friends and family."

"A noble goal." the woman answered with a nod of her head. "And you speak honestly, but not completely. There is more to your decision than you admit. You also wish to prove yourself and accomplish something that few others have."

"That's true." Hermione admitted, surprised that the woman knew so much about her. She wondered if her mind was being read somehow during the conversation. "May I ask who you are?"

"You may ask, but I may not say." she answered with a smile. "I have been many things in my life, but at the moment you may think of me as a gatekeeper. I have seen your mind and am willing to help you. But my help, and the help of those in my world, does not come without cost. Are you willing to pay the price?"

"What is the price?" Hermione asked uncertainly. "For that matter, what is the benefit?"

"Come, I shall explain on the other side." the woman said. "You may return here at any time if you wish, but if you do agree to our terms there will be no turning back. I will only ask once, if you say no the gateway will close and you will never be able to activate it again. Will you come?"

Hermione said nothing for a minute, trying to decide what to do. Although the woman seemed trustworthy there was really no way to tell. Finally she decided she had come too far to just turn back now and said "Yes. I'll come." She then stepped through the portal and the two of them began walking through to the other side.

* * *

As Hermione was walking through the portal Severus Snape was walking into Professor Dumbledore's office trying to conceal the slight limp he walked with. The Headmaster had eagerly been awaiting his return.

"Severus, are you injured? Please sit." Dumbledore said as he watched his Potions professor and personal spy walk in.

"I will be fine." Snape assured him as he sat down in a chair opposite from Dumbledore. Despite his assurances that he would be fine, Snape looked like he had suffered during the night. "The Dark Lord was not pleased with my delay in rejoining him, although after explained that I did it in order to not reveal my loyalties he relented."

"You've seen him then?" Dumbledore asked. "What is his condition?"

"The ritual to return him to his body has left him weak. He required several strengthening potions before I left." Snape explained. "It will take some time for him to marshal his forces and return to the position of power he once held. Now is the time to go on the offensive, Albus. He will never again be as exposed as he is now."

"I see." Dumbledore replied as he gently stroked his beard. "I promise to consider your advice, however I am not convinced now is the time to strike."

"Damn it, Albus! Why?" Snape demanded to know. "It has not escaped my attention that you have been reactivating the Order of the Phoenix the last few months. Surely you can muster the forces necessary to deal with the Death Eaters and face the Dark Lord yourself."

"You, more than anyone else, should know that it is not my lot in life to defeat Voldemort." Dumbledore reminded him.

"That bloody prophecy again. I rue the day that fraud Trelawney made it." Snape replied with disgust. "I'll admit Potter has improved this year, but he is still no match for the Dark Lord and I don't think he ever will be. Meanwhile people will die, myself possibly included."

"We will do our best to prevent that, Severus." Dumbledore answered, although Snape did not seem to be impressed by the response. "For now I must ask that you continue your duties as they are. Please know that no one appreciates your efforts more than I do. I promise I will continue to look for alternate ways to destroy Voldemort."

"Very well." Snape said. "If that is all I shall be leaving. Good night." With that Snape turned and left, wondering once again how he had allowed himself to get stuck in the middle of this mess.

* * *

Author's Note:

Several of you brought up the fact that Harry should not have been able to apparate into the stadium at Hogwarts. I completely agree that under normal conditions that would be true, but here is something that I think makes this particular moment different. Apparition and portkeys basically do the same thing, so it would stupid for Hogwarts to have massive defenses against one form of travel and nothing against the other. And yet in 'Goblet of Fire' the Triwizard Cup still worked just fine as a portkey, allowing Harry to leave and come back to Hogwarts. A bit odd isn't it? Why did it work? Remember in Chapter 19 of this story the Triwizard Cup portkeyed Harry out of the maze, as was obviously expected by those running the tournament. I was working on the assumption that in both cases Hogwart's defenses had been temporarily lowered, perhaps only for the Triwizard Champions. Bagman would have known about this and so whoever Imperius'd him (Crouch) would have been able to find it out as well. In hindsight I should have explained this in the story itself seeing as how so many of you thought of it, but oh well.

And yes, there will be consequences from Harry taking in a piece of Voldemort's personality. I'm not saying it will completely alter his outlook, but there is at least one instance coming up where the change will be perfectly clear.

One last thing. I will be continuing this story past fourth year. I would however like to know if you guys think I should just keep going in additional chapters of this story or if I should break it up into a separate story. Right now I am leaning towards just adding chapters in one massive story. Let me know.


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning Harry was surprised to see Daphne still asleep in the hospital bed with him. Despite what he had said the night before, he really did think that Madam Pomfrey would come and make her leave at some point during the night. Harry tried not to move too much so that he wouldn't wake his girlfriend, but he could sense that she was slowly waking up as well. A few minutes later Madam Pomfrey walked through the door and Harry felt a slight moment of panic worrying about what she would say about Daphne still being there, but then he realized she had probably checked on him at least once during the night and would have already known.

"Good morning, Mr Potter. I need you to take this potion and then you are free to go." the nurse said softly, but the sound was enough to wake Daphne.

"What's going on?" she asked groggily before sitting up in the bed and rubbing her eyes a little. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Madam Pomfrey looking at them. "Madam Pomfrey! I swear this isn't what you think!" But the older witch just laughed at Daphne's reaction.

"You mean you didn't just spend the night in bed with your boyfriend?" Pomfrey asked with a playful smile.

"Well yes, but-"

"Daphne." Harry interrupted. "It's ok. She would have kicked you out if she was really worried about it."

"True. But don't either of you think I am making a habit of it." Madam Pomfrey replied. "And I would prefer it if you, Mr Potter, would try and quit your habit of ending up in my care so frequently."

"I'll try." Harry answered, knowing that with his luck he would just be glad to stay out of the infirmary for the few days remaining in the school year. Madam Pomfrey seemed to sense this as well but just shrugged and handed him the potion she had mentioned. Harry looked at it curiously before deciding it was another pain potion and then downed the entire potion in one great swallow. It, like most potions he had been forced to take in this room, tasted horrible. "So that's it?"

"It is. You can go now, have a good day you two." Madam Pomfrey said before walking away to continue her morning routine. Harry rolled out of bed and stretched a little. He felt much better than he had last night, and his energy seemed to have mostly returned to him. All things considered, he felt better than anyone who had been hit with any two Unforgivables the day before had any right to feel.

"So what are you going to do today?" Daphne asked from the bed.

"Fudge's hearing will be broadcast on the wireless starting in a few hours and I was thinking we could listen to it." Harry suggested. "It should be very entertaining."

"Good idea." Daphne agreed. "Funny how no one knows how much you had to do with it."

"I think I prefer it that way." Harry replied. "I need to go get cleaned up, but can you meet me in front of the kitchens in about a half hour?"

"I guess so." Daphne answered. "Why?"

"I was thinking we could pick up some food and then I could take you somewhere special." Harry said with a mischievous smile on his face. "Just be sure to wear some clothes you don't mind getting dirty."

"What are you planning?" Daphne asked suspiciously.

"You'll see, just trust me." Harry said. Daphne eventually shrugged and agreed, knowing that Harry would be stubborn and not tell her what he had planned. After a kiss good-bye they went their separate ways to get ready for the day. Harry did not spend much time in the Gryffindor tower that morning and neither of them stopped by the Great Hall and as a result they both failed to notice that Hermione was no where to be found.

* * *

About an hour later Harry and Daphne finally were able to leave the kitchens. As soon as Dobby discovered that Harry was there the little elf had insisted that they sit and allow him to serve them a full breakfast. It wasn't what Harry had in mind, but he found it difficult to say no and disappoint the devoted elf. The moment Harry started eating he knew would have to thank Dobby for insisting because his hunger came back with a vengeance. He realized he had not eaten since lunch the previous day and afterwards had a very strenuous day. Dobby was quite pleased to see Master Harry enjoying his food so much and was happy to keep bringing more of it. Eventually Harry could eat no more and the couple left, after many promises to Dobby that they would return.

"So will you tell me where we're going now?" Daphne asked.

"The second floor." Harry answered, still obviously enjoying not telling his girlfriend everything. Daphne sighed in frustration, but by now her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she followed Harry anyway. It was not until they reached a girl's bathroom on the second floor that she realized what they were doing.

"Harry!" Daphne said loudly, "Why are you taking me to the Chamber of Secrets?"

"There's something down there I am going to need." Harry explained as he walked over the sinks in the middle of the room. Luckily for them, Myrtle had chosen to haunt another bathroom that day and they were able to avoid the somewhat annoying ghost. Daphne had heard Harry's story about his experience during their second year but he had never showed her the Chamber of Secrets before. To the best of her knowledge, no one had been back there since Harry killed the basilisk and saved Ginny Weasley. She watched with a great amount of interest as Harry hissed something in Parseltongue to the faucet and the sinks began to move, revealing a passageway. Harry hissed again and stairs formed leading down into the Chamber of Secrets.

"Do you still want to come?" Harry asked from the top of the stairs.

"Of course." Daphne answered and walked down the stairs in front of him as if to prove she wasn't afraid. Harry laughed and followed her down into the dark tunnels. When they were both safely at the bottom Harry looked around, trying to remember which way he had went two years before.

"Well, the smell hasn't improved." Harry said as he looked around, eliciting a small laugh from Daphne. "We'll go that way." Harry finally said, pointing towards one of several similar looking tunnels.

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked.

"These tunnels are all sort of connected. This leads the right way and if we're lucky we will be able to avoid the cave in." Harry responded. Daphne decided to trust his judgment on this one since she had no idea where she was going anyway. For the next fifteen minutes they walked through the tunnels occasionally turning and entering a new passage. Eventually Daphne had no idea which way they were headed and suspected Harry didn't either.

"Harry you better not have gotten us lost down here." she said with a bit of worry evident in her voice.

"We're almost there, I promise." Harry answered, although it did little to relieve his girlfriend. Daphne was surprised when a few minutes later they the grand hall of the Chamber of Secrets. The huge corpse of the basilisk lay where it had fallen and still looked as if it had died only minutes before instead of two years ago. When Daphne saw the giant beast she wrapped an arm around Harry's waste and wondered how being back was effecting him.

"I can't believe you faced that thing when you were only twelve years old." Daphne said.

"I got lucky, and I had help." Harry replied. "I owe my life to Fawkes, if he hadn't shown up I wouldn't have had the Sword of Gryffindor and the basilisk venom would have killed me."

"Need I remind you that near death experiences are not necessary to end the year?" Daphne asked jokingly. "Although I guess you've already gotten that out of the way for this year."

"I'll do my best next year." Harry answered. He then led her towards the fallen basilisk and began inspecting it curiously. "Why hasn't it started rotting? It's been here a long time."

"Magical animals are different" Daphne reminded him. "And this basilisk was over a thousand years old to begin with. Can you imagine how much this thing must be worth? It's amazing."

"Really? I hadn't thought of it." Harry said truthfully.

"Basilisks are rare and most of their parts are useful for something. One this size could bring in hundreds of thousands of galleons, easily." Daphne said as Harry nodded. "I guess you came down here for something from the basilisk. What?"

"The venom." Harry replied. He then walked over to the animal's head and picked up a large fang that had broken off and was covered with blood and venom. Harry was very careful handling the dangerous item and slowly placed it into a box he had brought with him to store it. "The diary contained a piece of Voldemort's soul, and I got very lucky that there just happened to be one of the few things that could destroy a Horcrux handy when I faced him that day. I plan on destroying all of them as soon as possible, and I'll need this to do it."

"How hard will it be for you to get to them?"

"Some will be harder than others." Harry answered. "One of them will be gone by tonight, but there are others that I still don't know how I will get to. Like Hufflepuff's Cup in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringott's. I really hope I can find a way to get to it without having to break in."

"Especially considering no one's ever been able to do that."

"Voldemort did." Harry corrected her. "Although he didn't get anything. I guess I've got everything I need here."

"What about the rest?" Daphne said. "Remember, you and Voldemort are the only two that can get down here. If you don't use it he might. Plus you can spend the money on something nice for me."

"I suppose you're right." Harry laughed. "But doesn't it technically belong to Hogwarts?"

"You killed it." Daphne pointed out. "I'd say that gives you a decent claim to it. Besides, they'd never be able to get it without your help."

"Ok, I'm convinced. But you're going to have to help me find a way to get it out of here." Harry replied. Daphne nodded in agreement. "Let's get out of here, I don't want to miss Fudge looking like an idiot." Together the two of them left the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk behind. The trip out was a little shorter than the trip in had been since they both had a better idea of where they were heading. Fortunately. they were able to make it out in time to not miss any of Cornelius Fudge's hearing.

* * *

Harry and Daphne were far from alone in wanting to listen to what would hopefully turn out to be the downfall of Cornelius Fudge. The event had major implications for politics in the wizarding world and was being broadcast internationally. Some where even speculating that it could equal the amount of listeners that tuned in for last year's record breaking Quidditch World Cup. Even in Hogwarts students crowded around radios to listen, an event that left many muggleborns wondering why no one had yet created a magical equivalent to television.

The Ministry of Magic itself was crowded like never before. Thousands of witches and wizards showed up hoping to be able to find an open seat in the Great Hall of the Wizengamot which had been expanded to its maximum capacity. Unfortunately for most of them, the empty seats rapidly filled up leaving them to try and find somewhere else to listen in. The Wizengamot itself consisted of one hundred witches and wizards and the Chief Warlock who at this time was none other than Albus Dumbledore. All of the members of the Wizengamot were purebloods, although not all of them agreed with the pureblood bigotry associated with Voldemort and his followers. Almost all of them were additionally from old and wealthy families. As a result the main legislative and judicial body of wizarding Britain tended to be quite conservative in its outlook compared with the rest of the population. Change generally came slow, if it happened at all.

Fifteen minutes before the hearing was set to begin the main doors to Great Hall of the Wizengamot were closed and the spectators were told to take their seats. As the minutes passed the anticipation in the crowd became palpable. Conversations died off as the time drew near and the room was nearly quiet when a series of bells rang indicating the start of the session. A old wizard in elaborate robes walked to the center of the room and began speaking in a very loud voice so that all could hear him.

"This meeting of the Wizengamot is now in session!"

As soon as he had said that the members of the Wizengamot walked into the room from two doors at the back. They were arranged so that the most senior members were closer to the front. In the middle and in front of all of them was an ornate desk where Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore sat in order to control the meeting.

"The Wizengamot thanks all of you for your attendance." Dumbledore began. "First on the itinerary is-"

"I demand to be heard!" a loud voice called. The audience turned to look at Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge who was standing up towards the front of the audience flanked by his supporters.

"Minister Fudge we will hear from you momentarily, but we do have other business to attend to before that." Dumbledore assured him.

"It is my right as Minister of Magic to be heard and I demand you give me that opportunity." Fudge said, hoping to show that he was in control of the proceedings.

"Very well." Dumbledore sighed. "The Wizengamot recognized Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge." Fudge grinned triumphantly as made his way down to the raised podium at the center of the room. Once there he laid out a few notes and then turned to face the audience instead of Wizengamot. Such a move was highly irregular and everyone recognized it as another of Fudge's power plays.

"Witches and wizards of the Wizengamot and of Great Britain as whole, I stand before you a man innocent of all accusations that have been leveled against me by that foul tabloid the Daily Prophet." Fudge began. "My political enemies have spread rumors and lies about me for their own gain. But you, the good people of this great land, know that I am an honest wizard who has worked to create a brighter future for all of us. There is still work to be done, that we all know, and I am the man to do it.

"Now, as am sure you are by now aware there are some amongst us who have begun spreading rumors that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned. LIES! You-Know-Who is dead and can never return. The reason for these ridiculous accusations is that certain people, who sit in this very room but I shall not name, believe that their chances of assuming my position as Minister of Magic will improve if they can fool the public into believing the Dark Lord has returned. Do not be fooled by their lies!

I was surprised as all of you when it was discovered that Peter Pettigrew was still alive, but do not assume that this means Sirius Black is innocent! For all we know they both could have conspired to hand the Potters over to You-Know-Who. Furthermore, the accusations that I hid evidence to keep Black in jail are groundless. That fact will made clear here today. All I ask is that you question what the Wizengamot tells you. Do not forget they have their own agendas! Thank you."

With that Minister Fudge retook his seat while those that supported him applauded as loudly as they could. At best his supporters made up a quarter of the audience and it was clear that he was going to have a difficult time convincing them. Dumbledore allowed their applause to go on for a few moments before banging his gavel on the desk to quiet them.

"The first item on our agenda is one that I regret to say is not on your schedules because it was added just this morning." Dumbledore said as the crowd began to whisper wondering what it could be. "Aurors, if you would be so kind as to bring in the accused we shall begin."

A door on the side of the room opened and group of ten Aurors walked in surrounding a man in prison clothes and chains in his hands and feet. The audience gasped in shock as they realized who it was that had been brought in.

"Peter Pettigrew, you are accused of being a Death Eater and two counts of murder. How do you plead?" Dumbledore asked from the center of the room.

"Chief Warlock!" a member of the Wizengamot interrupted. She was a short, fat woman who looked rather like a toad.

"Yes, Madam Umbridge?" Dumbledore responded.

"This is highly irregular!" Umbridge protested. "I move that the trial of Peter Pettigrew be pushed back to a later date so that he has time to prepare his defense. He was, after all, only captured last night."

"I second that motion!" another member of the Wizengamot shouted.

"Very well." Dumbledore said. "The motion has been forwarded and seconded. Members of the Wizengamot, all those in favor of postponing the trial of Peter Pettigrew please raise your hands." Quite a few people raised their hands, but it was less than a third of them. "All opposed to postponing said trial?" The rest of the Wizengamot, a clear majority, raised their hands to this. "The opposed have it. The trial of Peter Pettigrew will continue as planned. Now, Mr Pettigrew... How do you plead to the charges?"

"Innocent!" Wormtail yelled at once. "I was placed under the Imperius curse and was not responsible for my actions."

"We shall see." Dumbledore responded skeptically. "Aurors, administer Veritaserum to the accused." At this Wormtail began to panic, knowing that he would have no chance of being found innocent if he were questioned under the powerful truth serum. He struggled against the Aurors, an action that only made him look more guilty, but in the end was unable to stop them from dosing him with Veritaserum. The potion had a calming effect on him and he slumped back in his chair awaiting questions from the Wizengamot.

"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked.

"Peter Pettigrew. But some call me Wormtail." the Death Eater answered.

"Was Sirius Black the Potter's secret keeper in October of 1981?"

"No, I was." Wormtail responded. His admission created quite a commotion in the audience and Dumbledore was forced to use his gavel to quiet them once again.

"Has Sirius Black ever been a Death Eater?"

"No, he was always loyal to James."

"Did you reveal the location of the Potter's residence to Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked. As one the audience seemed to lean forward in anticipation of the response.

"Yes."

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Is Voldemort alive?"

"Yes."

Not even Dumbledore could easily contain the chaos that followed. Members of the Wizengamot and audience all began shouting at each other, some in fright from what they heard, some in disbelief, and some secretly in anger because their master's return had been announced before he was ready for it to be. Aurors were forced to remove some members of the audience that could not control themselves and in the end it took more than ten minutes for calm to return to the room so that the questioning could continue.

"How did Voldemort return?" Dumbledore asked. The audience, and most members of the Wizengamot, shuddered at the mention of the Dark Lord's name even more than they had minutes before when they believed him dead.

"Last night I performed a dark ritual to restore him to his body. That is why we kidnapped Harry Potter." Wormtail explained.

"We've heard enough!" a member of the Wizengamot said loudly. He was from one of the darker families believed to have connections to Voldemort during the first war and some watching were smart enough to see he had likely had other reasons for wanting to end the questioning. "Let us decide his guilt or innocence now. I vote guilty."

"I agree. Guilty." another member of the Wizengamot replied. He was from a light family but was outraged from what he had heard so far. Between the groups that wanted to shut Pettigrew up and those that would like nothing more than to have him receive the Dementor's kiss right that moment they had a majority and were able to call for a verdict to be decided at once.

"All those in favor of finding the defendant guilty?" Dumbledore asked, to which every hand in the Wizengamot was raised. Even those that supported Voldemort knew it was foolish to fight this. "All in favor of finding the defendant innocent?" No hands were raised this time. "Peter Pettigrew, you have been found guilty. You will be taken to Azkaban where you will await sentencing. Your crimes require a life sentence and this court will reconvene in one week to decide whether or not you will face the Dementor's kiss. Aurors, take him away."

Peter was lead out of the hall. He was no longer trying to escape, he was just crying uncontrollably although no one felt any pity for him. Once he was gone discussion in the hall turned towards what they should now do about Sirius Black.

"He is obviously innocent!" one witch said.

"We can't know that! Perhaps Pettigrew just didn't know Black was a Death Eater." one of Fudge's cronies responded. A shouting match followed and neither side seemed to be winning. Many people still felt that Black was guilty of some crimes even if he didn't betray the Potters, the image they had in their heads of 'Sirius Black the criminal' was just too strong to overcome.

"Order!" Dumbledore said loudly as he banged his gavel down. "Will the Wizengamot agree to give Sirius Black the trial he clearly deserves at the nearest opportunity?"

The Wizengamot debated this for a few minutes but finally agreed that if Sirius Black was captured he would be brought before them and given a fair trial.

"...Those in favor have the clear majority." Dumbledore announced after their vote. "Black will receive a trial as soon as possible. Now, onto our-"

"How about right now?" a voice called from the audience, interrupting Dumbledore. The man who had spoken wearing a dark cloak that covered most of his face. He wore glasses and a hat making it hard to determine what he looked like. But when the man removed his disguise it was obvious all who it was.

"Sirius Black!" Minister Fudge yelled from his spot in the audience. "Aurors, arrest him at once!" The crowd meanwhile was gasping in surprise at this unexpected turn of events. Few of them noticed the twinkle in Chief Warlock Dumbledore's eyes at that moment, as if he had something to do with this...

"I don't think so, Fudge." Sirius yelled back. "I was just promised a chance to clear my name 'as soon as possible'. That would be now." Fudge looked furious, but there was nothing he could do about it. Without being called, Sirius walked down and took a seat at the podium in the center of the room and awaited the questions from the Wizengamot. The Wizengamot mostly looked at him in shock while Sirius simply smiled and waited for them to proceed.

"Aurors, please administer Veritaserum to Mr Black." Dumbledore finally said. The Aurors approached and this time the person they were trying to give the truth serum to did not fight against them but instead took it willingly. When the dose was given Sirius took on the calm look that those given Veritaserum often do.

"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked to confirm the identity of the man in front of them.

"Sirius Black."

"Were you the Potter's secret keeper?"

"No." Sirius answered. "We decided that I was too obvious of a choice."

"Who was the secret keeper?" Dumbledore asked, although he and everyone else already knew the answer.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Are you now, or were you ever a supporter of Voldemort?"

"No. Never." Sirius answered.

"Were you responsible for the deaths of a dozen muggles on the day it was believed that Peter Pettigrew had died?"

"No. Peter did that."

"Wizards and witches of the Wizengamot, have you any further questions before we reach a decision?" Dumbledore asked. Meanwhile Fudge's supporter's were panicking, they could see no way for them to keep their key ally in power. But they were reluctant to stop trying.

"I do." Madam Umbridge said as she rose from her seat. "Sirius Black, are you guilty of any other crimes the Wizengamot should know about?"

"I escaped Azkaban, which I assume is a crime." Sirius responded. "And I am an unregistered animagus. That is all." Umbridge sat down unhappily, clearly she had been hoping for something worse with which she could then attack him with.

"In that case you will be required to register with the Ministry of Magic and pay a fine." Dumbledore instructed him. "There is, in fact, no law against escaping from Azkaban because it was not believed to be possible. If the Wizengamot is ready, we shall now vote on the matter. Those who find the defendant guilty of murder, please raise your hand." No one raised their hand, not even the staunchest ally of Fudge. "Those who find him innocent?" Once again everyone raised their hand, although some did so reluctantly.

"Sirius Black, you have been found innocent. You have our deepest apologies for what has been done to you and are now free to go." Dumbledore said with a poorly concealed smile. Sirius, who was just getting over the effects of the Veritaserum, jumped out of his seat gave a victorious shout. The audience began to applaud the now free man and Sirius, ever the showman, leapt on top of the nearest table and took an exaggerated bow. Once again it took several minutes and many more bangs from Dumbledore's gavel before they were ready to proceed.

"Our last issue of the day concerns the inquiry into whether or not Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge was aware of Sirius Black's innocence before he was imprisoned." Dumbledore began. "The Wizengamot welcomes Minister Fudge and thanks him for his attendance. Minister, I believe you had an opening statement?" Fudge slowly made his way down to the podium again. Once there he began to look over his notes but quickly realized the rest of the day's revelations had rendered them useless. For an uncomfortably long period of time Fudge merely stood there silently as the crowd waited for him to begin.

"Thank you, Chief Warlock and the rest of the Wizengamot for this opportunity to vindicate myself." Fudge began. "I must once again state that I am innocent of all charges. If their is any evidence that suggests otherwise I would like to see it as well to determine what kind of trickery it is. I wish to also add that with the return of You-Know-Who, now is not the time to be making drastic changes in our political system. I will strongly oppose the Dark Lord and all those who support him, you have my word on that!" What Fudge seemed to not understand is that the audience remembered him denying that Voldemort had returned earlier in the day and that his word wasn't worth very much. Fudge's statement appeared to be over because he left the podium after that and sat down.

"Does the Wizengamot have any witnesses it wishes to call in the matter?" Dumbledore asked. As the Chief Warlock asked his question Fudge began to smile as if there was something he knew that no one else did.

"Yes, Chief Warlock." Amelia Bones, director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and member of the Wizengamot answered. "We call former Auror Wesley Harris." A few moments later a middle aged wizard walked into the room and towards the podium. As he did Minister Fudge jumped out of his seat as if he wished to object to something but in the end said nothing and sat back down looking very unhappy. His eyes darted up towards the Wizengamot and he began glaring angrily, but it was unclear who he was looking at.

"Mr Harris, I believe you have a memory you wish to share with us?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Yes, sir." Harris answered. "I actually have two."

"The one concerning Sirius Black first if you don't mind." Dumbledore replied. Harris nodded and a modified pensieve was brought to him. It would allow the memory to be projected for everyone to see. Harris carefully drew the memory out and placed it in the pensieve. Moments later the memory began playing and it showed exactly what the Daily Prophet had reported it did. Fudge and Crouch Sr both knew that Sirius Black was innocent and conspired to send him to Azkaban anyway in order to protect their own political careers. When the short memory ended the crowd began to boo and jeer loudly at the Minister of Magic, who had the decency to lower his head a little in shame at his actions.

"Silence!" Dumbledore called out, ordering the audience to control themselves. "The second memory, please." Harris nodded and pulled out another memory which he carefully placed in the pensieve. Unlike the last time, no one knew what to expect from this memory as it began to play.

The memory showed Harris, looking almost identical to what he now did, sitting in a nondescript office. He appeared to be confused as to why he was there. Minutes later the door to the office opened and a short woman dressed entirely in pink walked in. The crowd gasped in surprise when they realized it was Delores Umbridge, the very same supporter of Minister Fudge and member of the Wizengamot who had already spoken out several times in today's session. The toad-like woman walked towards Harris as he looked up at her with a surprised look on his face.

"Who're you? Where's my guard?" Harris asked.

"Oh, that doesn't matter." Umbridge replied. "I'm here to talk about your filthy lies about Minister Fudge."

"They aren't lies." Harris insisted.

"Of course they are." Umbridge said. "You know, lying is a very bad thing. Bad for those who do it, and for their families."

"You bitch!" Harris shouted angrily, "How dare you threaten my family!"

"I don't remember ever threatening your family." Umbridge replied. "I am sure they will be just fine once we reach an agreement here today."

"What do you want?" Harris asked, still obviously seething in rage.

"To never hear from you again. You must not repeat those terrible lies about the Minister." Umbridge said haughtily. "There may even be some financial benefit, assuming you refuse to speak before the Wizengamot. But not until after."

"Fine." Harris answered. "Just leave me and my family alone."

"Excellent!" Umbridge responded. "Don't forget what you promised here, I won't." With that Umbridge left the room and the memory ended. The Wizengamot was left in an uproar with members yelling at Umbridge for her crimes while she professed her innocence. Aurors were forced to surround her for her own protection, although many of them were also hoping to be able to incarcerate her.

"Aurors, please take Madam Umbridge in to custody on charges of witness intimidation." Dumbledore said sadly. "We will schedule the trial itself at a later date. Now, back to the matter of Minister Fudge. Some of you have spoken out in favor of also arresting him, but I do not have the authority to arrest a sitting Minister of Magic."

"I call for a vote to remove Minister Fudge!" Elphias Doge, an old friend of Dumbledore and long time member of the Wizengamot, yelled. Several other shouted out their agreement towards the idea.

"The removal of the Minister of Magic would require a two thirds majority. Does the Wizengamot wish to proceed?" Dumbledore reminded them. Their approval was unmistakable. "In that case the vote will be cast. Minister Fudge, do you have anything to say before we vote?"

"I... uh... I was completely unaware of Madam Umbridge's actions and my next act as Minister of Magic will be to fire her from her position within the Ministry!" Fudge offered, but even he knew it was not enough.

"I'm sure." Dumbledore answered skeptically, causing many in the audience to laugh. "All those in favor of removing Cornelius Fudge from his position as Minister of Magic?" This time the vote was very close since they needed a two thirds majority. Fudge had many dark families and his own group of hangers on supporting him and the outcome was very uncertain. A count began to see how many had voted to remove Fudge and in the end the number was written down on a piece of parchment and handed to Chief Warlock Dumbledore.

"Those who support removing Minister Fudge have amassed sixty eight votes, which is more than the required majority." Dumbledore announced. Fudge, who had been standing in anticipation of the announcement, dropped back in his chair in disappointment. "Cornelius Fudge, you are hereby stripped of the title Minister of Magic. As required in our laws, this body will reconvene in one week to vote on a new Minister of Magic. That concludes today's scheduled items. Is there anything else before we adjourn?"

"Yes!" an older witch said as she stood up. "Aurors, now that he is no longer Minister of Magic I ask that you arrest Cornelius Fudge."

The aurors looked towards Dumbledore for confirmation and he nodded slightly. Fudge barely reacted as the Aurors approached him lifted him out of his chair. The shock of the moment was so powerful that even when his wand was taken from him Fudge did not say anything. It was a sight that those in attendance would never forget.

"If that is all, this session of the Wizengamot is ended." Dumbledore announced. Immediately the crowd, no longer required to keep quiet, began discussing the days events much like witches and wizards everywhere were also doing. It would go down as one of the most strange and eventful days in the history of the Wizengamot. Dumbledore, who had secretly orchestrated most of it, left the room with a large smile and twinkle in his eye. His first action once free of his duties as Chief Warlock was to find and congratulate Sirius Black.

* * *

Author's Note:

That was a pretty unorthodox type chapter for me. I'm not real big into writing politics but there were a lot of things that required something like this happens. As you should all be able to see by now year five will not be happening as it did in the books. That is simply impossible with all of the changes that have happened. I do hope most of you like how this is progressing, and please keep suggesting ideas. I love to hear them even when I don't use them.

I have been convinced by those of you arguing that I keep this story all in one piece. It really will be easier for me and hopefully for you guys considering you won't have to look through multiple stories to see what is going on. I'm not sure how much longer this story will be when it is finished, although I sort of feel like it has at least passed the half way point. Thanks again for reading.


	24. Chapter 24

Back in Hogwarts, Harry had practically been jumping up and down in excitement ever since Peter Pettigrew was found guilty of being a Death Eater and for aiding in the murder of his parents. By the time Sirius made his surprise appearance and was subsequently cleared of the major charges against him Daphne thought she would have to physically restrain him from running to the edge of the wards and using his newfound ability to apparate in order to see his godfather. In the end she was forced to convince Harry that Sirius was probably as eager to see him as he was to see Sirius so he should just wait. Harry reluctantly agreed and sat back down. They had chosen to listen to the unfolding political drama outside on Daphne's portable magical radio. It was a bright, sunny day which at the moment matched Harry's mood.

"Do you think Dumbledore will let him come here?" Harry wondered aloud. "Maybe I won't even have to go live with the Dursley's at all this year."

"That'd be great, Harry." Daphne said with a smile at her excited boyfriend. She knew how much he disliked the idea of returning to his relatives and despite his assurances that he would be fine if he had to go back she was beginning to suspect conditions there were worse than he let on. "You know it's amazing how efficient the Wizengamot was today. That never happens. I guess they were just feeling the pressure of so many people watching them."

"Probably so. I just wish Dumbledore had made Wormtail keep talking."

"He couldn't have." Daphne replied, knowing that Harry was unaware of how the Wizengamot worked. "They voted to sentence him right then, and even as Chief Warlock he doesn't have the authority to override a majority vote from the full Wizengamot. They can question him later, but unfortunately not as many people will hear it."

Harry was about to reply when he saw a small, brown owl that he did not recognize flying towards them. It landed in front of Harry and stuck out its leg where a note was attached. Once Harry had removed the note the owl flew off back to towards the direction it had come from.

"What is it?" Daphne asked as Harry began to read the letter.

"It's from Sirius!" Harry said with a smile. He continued to read and Daphne noticed that his face changed from happy to disappointed and then back to happy again. "He says that he has to stay at the ministry filling out paper work tonight so that they can officially clear his record and legally return everything they had taken from him, including his wand. Huh, I guess I hadn't realized that Sirius had been using a substitute wand all this time. Anyhow he'll be here tomorrow after the End of Year Feast and that he wants to meet you."

"Just what have you told him about me?" Daphne asked curiously.

"It's all been good, I promise." Harry answered.

"That's fine." Daphne replied with a grin. "Just remember, you still have to meet my parents." Harry paled a bit at that thought as it had slipped his mind recently. He told himself it was probably ridiculous to be worried about it and was able to ignore the thought long enough to start reading again.

"Apparently I have to stay with the Dursley's for two weeks, but after that I can come stay at his house for the rest of the summer." Harry was thrilled at the news. As bad as the Dursley's were he could handle 14 days with them easily.

"I'm happy for you, Harry." Daphne said seriously. Harry had been through a pretty rough time over the past couple of days and she was glad for anything that could make him smile.

"It's great. I'm sure he won't have a problem if you come over. Or Hermione or Neville for that matter." As soon as he had said it Harry realized what had been bothering him all day: he had not seen Hermione since she left the infirmary the night before. Daphne wouldn't know anything about it either since they had been together the whole day.

"What's wrong? I know that look." Daphne said.

"It's Hermione." Harry answered. "Where's she been all day? I thought she might visit me this morning considering how upset she was last night."

"Exams are over so she shouldn't be studying still, unless it's for that project the two of you are working on." Daphne replied. "Although she has been working pretty hard on that."

"I bet that's what she's doing." Harry agreed with a nod. "She hates not being able to use magic over the summer and always wants to do a few things at the last minute before the year ends. She'll probably be in the Room of Requirement, which is convenient for us because we have a little chore to do while we're there."

"Let me guess, it involves that basilisk fang you picked up this morning?"

"Exactly." Harry answered. "So, you want to go drag Hermione kicking and screaming away from her project so she can enjoy the last few hours at Hogwarts?"

"Sure, why not." Daphne answered as she extended her hand towards Harry who helped her up. As they walked through the castle they both took the time to watch their classmates. As usual many of them were excited to be going back home for the summer and a bit sad to be leaving their friends, but under all of those expected emotions there was obviously a tenseness that was not at all common. The least affected by this were, oddly enough, the muggleborns who probably didn't really know what it meant that Lord Voldemort had returned. The purebloods, on the other hand, knew exactly what it meant and it showed in their uneasiness. The Slytherins were the oddest mix of all though. Some of them, in almost all cases children of Death Eaters, appeared to be quite happy with the news. Others, usually children of dark families which had not supported Voldemort, were obviously terrified. Daphne understood what they were going through but was able to present an unworried face. She mentally noted that she would have to go check on Astoria to see how she was handling the news. Daphne expected that her little sister would be acting like it was no big deal, but the younger witch would know what it meant for their family underneath the carefree attitude.

After their long walk through the castle Harry and Daphne finally made it to the seventh floor. They were not at all surprised to see that there was a door already in the hallway across from the painting of Barnabas the Barmy.

"I knew she'd be in here." Harry said with a laugh and a small shake of his head. He tried to open the door but found that it was locked. That, in of itself, was not too odd. They all sometimes locked the door just to make sure no one noticed the new door and decided to investigate. Harry cast a quick "Alohomora" but was surprised when he did not hear the lock click to confirm it had opened. "That's weird." he said with a confused look on his face.

"Harry, there isn't anything dangerous about the project Hermione is working on is there?" Daphne asked. "It's possible she is trying to keep everyone out for their own safety."

"I can't think of any way what we were doing could hurt somebody." Harry answered. "I'll just put a little more effort into it... Alohomora!" Harry cast a powerful version of the spell and it was able to overcome Hermione's locking charms. As they entered the room they knew something very strange had happened there. The portal, and Hermione with it, had disappeared but the room remained as it was otherwise. The runes on the ring of sand in the center of the room still glowed eerily and the torches on the dark stone walls were still dark.

"What is this place?" Harry asked as a feeling of fear for his friend began to overtake him. "What happened here?"

"It's a ritual room, but not like any I have ever seen before." Daphne answered. She noticed an old, worn book laying on the ground away from the ring and walked over to take a look. The writing was difficult for her to understand and what she could read seemed to be written in cryptic riddles and random nonsense. She doubted anyone could figure out what the author meant by it all, assuming he wasn't crazy to begin with. But even so she felt certain that the book held the secret to determining what had happened.

"Look, over there." Harry said, pointing to another corner in the room. He walked towards it and picked up a stack of parchment and began reading. "They're notes on something. It's Hermione's handwriting." Daphne left her spot by the book to look over the notes with Harry.

"I've found it." Daphne said with a surprised gasp. "The Ritual of Heron... it's supposed to be a myth though. Or at the very least impossible."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"No one knows." Daphne answered. "Wizards of been trying to figure it out for centuries but no one ever has. An ancestor of mine tried it over four hundred years ago but made a mistake and lost both of his legs because of it. If Hermione tried this she could be in real danger, Harry."

"Why, though?" Harry wondered desperately. "Why would she do something so stupid?"

"She was scared." Daphne answered. "And probably curious. That's a bad combination." Daphne began looking around the room for any sign they could have missed that would give them a clue as to where their friend was but again saw nothing. Harry had reached a similar conclusion from his search.

"How could she just vanish? You can't apparate or portkey in or out of Hogwarts." Harry said.

"You did both yesterday" Daphne reminded him.

"Yeah, but they must have altered the wards to make an exception for the Triwizard champions. Pettigrew only made it through because he was with me." Harry answered. Daphne nodded, it did make sense after all. Something else must have happened.

"Maybe she didn't vanish, Harry. Maybe she just isn't here. Do you have the Marauder's Map with you?"

"Always." Harry responded as he pulled it from his robes. After activating it they both began scouring the enchanted object for any sign of Hermione. After ten minutes of frustration Daphne was forced to decide that Hermione was probably not in Hogwarts anymore.

"She's not here, Harry." Daphne said softly to her boyfriend who was still looking.

"You don't know that. We know there are rooms in the castle that don't show up on the map. We're in one of them right now!" Harry answered. "The Chamber of Secrets isn't shown either, and we were there this morning. Who knows how many other places aren't on the map."

"Maybe." Daphne said with a shrug. "But it just doesn't feel right. She did something here and is gone now because of it, that's what I think."

"So what do we do about it? Do we tell anybody?"

"People are going to notice eventually." Daphne answered. "If she doesn't show up by tonight we'll have to say something. We can keep looking for her, but wherever she is it isn't here." Harry nodded in sad agreement. "Let's go, Harry." Daphne said quietly. She took Harry's hand and led him towards the exit of the Room of Requirements. All thoughts of finding Voldemort's horcrux were gone from his mind and replaced with worry for his friend. He wished she would have confided in him about what she was doing. Perhaps he could have been able to talk her out of it.

As the couple approached the door a strong wind began circling in the room. The event was so unexpected they both turned to look at each other in shock to confirm that they weren't just imagining it. The wind continued to blow and suddenly the torches on the four walls of the room reignited and began to produce sparks of various colors. In the center of the room the sand ring burst into flames and burned brightly for a few moments before the fire suddenly disappeared, but they both noticed that the flames were intense enough to turn the sand into glass. In the middle of the now glass ring a small black ball had formed. It seemed be pulsing as if it were alive and was slowly growing. As it grew sparks of energy that looked like lightning bolts began to wrap around the black sphere. Only moments later the sphere had grown to about eight feet tall, and there it stopped. Gradually the energy faded away allowing Daphne and Harry to get a better look at what had formed.

The sphere had somehow flattened itself out and was now more disk shaped. The center of the black disk was swirling with colors but Harry could not make out what shape they would take. A moment later the images formed and to Harry's shock he saw Hermione talking to a taller woman with bright green hair. Although he could see their mouths moving he could not hear anything they were saying. Finally Hermione nodded at something the woman said and stepped out of the disk.

"Harry! Daphne!" Hermione said in surprise at seeing her two friends. "What are you doing here?"

"What have you done, Hermione?" Daphne asked seriously. "What is this?"

"I'll explain everything." Hermione answered. "This is-"

"Ah, so this must be Harry Potter." the green haired woman said from the other side of the portal, interrupting Hermione. "Perhaps one day we shall meet again, that would be interesting wouldn't it? Remember my words, gatekeeper! You must never forget your promise." With that the woman waved her hand and cast a wandless spell that caused two thin, silver bracelets to appear on each of Hermione's wrists. "It is done. Farewell."

The woman turned and began walking away and as she did the portal began to shrink until it finally disappeared. When it was gone the room appeared to have gone completely back to normal. Hermione raised her hands to look at the bands that had appeared on her wrists and was caught off guard when Harry rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Hermione!" Harry said in relief, "We were worried about you!"

"Sorry, Harry." Hermione answered, returning the hug. "How long was I gone?"

"You don't know?" Daphne said suspiciously. She was not ready to trust Hermione right away after seeing what had happened.

"Time passes differently where I was." Hermione replied. "For me, it's been almost four days."

"No one had seen you since you left the infirmary last night." Harry informed her. "That was almost twenty hours ago. Where did you go?"

"I can't tell you exactly what or where it is, that's one of the rules." Hermione began. "But I've spent the last few months trying to solve this riddle, and last week I finally did."

"The Ritual of Heron." Daphne said in understanding.

"Exactly." Hermione answered in surprise, but then realized she had left her notes lying on the floor. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Harry. I know I should have. But at first I really wasn't going to do it, I just wanted to figure out how to do it because no one ever had. Then Voldemort came back and I found out that you had died... I panicked, and I did something I know was risky and foolish.

"You didn't know what the ritual was going to do, did you?" Harry asked.

"No." Hermione answered, lowering her head a little in shame. "I had reason to think it wasn't very dark, but beyond that I didn't know. Last night, for you at least, I came here after I left you two in the infirmary. I just couldn't get the thought that this was the only way to protect my friends and family out of my head. So I set everything up and went through with it. Apparently the only purpose of the ritual was to open the connection between our world and another, like you just saw, and allow the person who performed the ritual to go through the gateway."

"Who was the woman?" Daphne asked.

"I must not speak her name, nor the names of anyone I met on the other side. That is another one of the rules. They believe if a person on this side knew a person on that side's name it might give them a certain amount of power over them." Hermione explained. "They have worked hard to keep their world a secret from us, and I won't betray them."

"So what did she want from you?" Harry asked.

"She was able to read my mind and determine my motives for opening the portal. She saw everything I knew about Voldemort and the war and eventually decided to offer me the chance to go with her to the other side. I couldn't have made it through without her because she is currently the gatekeeper on that side." Hermione said.

"What do you mean, 'gatekeeper'?" Daphne asked.

"I'll get to that." Hermione promised. "The people on the other side are all from different worlds, or perhaps dimensions or realities. I'm not quite sure how it works to be honest. Not all of them are human, but most seem quite intelligent. She offered me the help of her people to aid in my struggle."

"At what cost?" Daphne asked, knowing that nothing good ever came so easily. Hermione frowned somewhat at the question, and Daphne knew the cost would be high.

"That's the hard part to explain." Hermione started. "I was offered the chance to become the gatekeeper on this side, which would allow me to open a portal like the one you just saw. Through the open portal I could summon help from someone on the other side when it was most needed, but only one at a time and opening a new portal is said to be quite difficult. But in order to do that I had to... bind my soul to that world."

"What?" Harry shouted. "You sold your soul for a little bit of help that we don't even know will matter?"

"No!" Hermione yelled back. "I did not sell my soul. I merely... rented it out for a little while." As she said it Hermione knew her explanation sounded weak.

"For how long?" Daphne asked.

"I honestly don't know what happens when a person dies." Hermione said. "I know Dumbledore said death is the next great adventure, so I doubt even he knows. But I had to agree that when I die in this world I would have to be reborn in theirs to serve others as they had served me. Everyone in that world was at one point like I am now. For a thousand years I will be bound like that and then will be given the choice to stay or go off into the 'next great adventure.' Until then I am instructed to grow stronger so that I might better serve others."

"So for their help in ending your war you had to pledge to fight other people's wars for a thousand years." Daphne said. "Magic does love irony, doesn't it."

"What were you thinking?" Harry asked. "It's not worth it!"

"It might be." Hermione responded. "This war will be brutal, you know it as well as I do. This was my way to help you make it through. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about what I was doing, but if it even gives either of you a fractionally better chance at surviving it will be worth it to me."

"But it's your soul, Hermione!" Harry answered back. Daphne watched the two friends bicker with a sad look on her face. She too thought that Hermione was foolish for accepting the deal but realized there could have been worse results. Perhaps being bound to that other world for a millennium wouldn't be too bad, at the very least Hermione knew death wouldn't be the end for her. Harry would calm down eventually and realize his friend had mostly good intentions even if her common sense had momentarily failed her.

"Yes, Harry, it is. And it is still mine." Hermione replied. "That has not changed. I've made a lot of mistakes this year, I know that, but I want to be by your side when you have to face whatever it is that Voldemort throws at you. Please, let me do that."

"You know I was never going to push you away like that." Harry said, his tone softening a little. "I'm scared for you, Hermione. Things have been happening so fast these past few days and I don't know what's going to happen. Just promise me you won't risk yourself for me."

"Would you make that promise to me?" Hermione asked.

"No, I wouldn't." Harry answered truthfully.

"Then you have my answer as well." Hermione said. "I will be careful from now on though, and I expect you to be as well. We'll talk about the rest of it later, ok"

"Sure." Harry finally said. "Let's get out of here, and we will be talking about this later. But I do have something to do before we leave. Can the Room of Requirement makes something that's already in it appear even if it isn't currently being used?" As soon as he asked the question Ravenclaw's Diadem, which is what he had been thinking of, appeared on the floor next to him. "I'll take that a yes."

"Harry!" Daphne exclaimed. "Do you know what this is? It's the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. There's a model of it in front of the Ravenclaw common room." She rushed over to pick it up and was mesmerized by the old relic.

"Of course it is." Harry said, "But it is also a horcrux. It has to be destroyed, Daphne."

"Ravenclaw's Diadem is said to make it's wearer more intelligent." Hermione informed them. "I don't suppose there is a way to destroy the horcrux but leave the diadem intact is there?"

"I doubt it." Harry replied as he took the diadem away from Daphne. He set the priceless object on the ground and removed the basilisk fang from the box he had stored it in earlier. "I'm really sorry about this..." Harry lowered the fang to diadem and smeared the blood and venom against it. The diadem shook violently for a few seconds and then a loud shriek was heard. The shriek ended suddenly and the relic stopped shaking.

"At least it's still in one piece." Daphne commented. "Is the horcrux really gone?"

"Yes, it is." Harry answered with a nod. He then removed the remaining blood and venom from the crown and placed it on his head. Hermione and Daphne looked at him and wondered what would happen. "Well, I don't feel any smarter. Looks like I broke it."

"What a pity." Hermione said disappointedly. "It would have been nice to have for our OWLs next year..." Harry and Daphne immediately began laughing at Hermione's serious suggestion. Leave it to Hermione to first consider the academic benefits of the relic even before thinking of how else it could help them in the war.

"Three down, four left to go." Harry said with a smile. "Then Voldemort will be mortal again and we can finally end this."

"Sure, all we'll have to do then is kill one of the most powerful dark wizards ever." Daphne said. "Piece of cake, really."

"Maybe we won't even have to do it. We could get lucky and he could get run over by a bus." Harry said jokingly. "That's how I'd like to see him go."

"So what do we do with the diadem?" Hermione asked, taking it from Harry to inspect it.

"I say we keep it." Harry suggested. "Maybe we can fix it, and even if not at least we can give it a better home than in here." The others seemed to agree with him, which surprised him a little. He had thought that Hermione would insist on turning it over to Dumbledore since it did once belong to one of the founders, but she had not said a word. Harry assumed she was just trying not to fight with him after all they had just been through and was glad for it. He never really questioned why he didn't feel the need to give the Headmaster the diadem when he might have before, he just felt strongly it would be better off with him.

The three friends left the Room of Requirement as Harry and Daphne began to explain everything that had happened in the Wizengamot while Hermione was away. She was, of course, incredibly happy for Harry and Sirius and promised she would try to come see him during the summer if it was at all possible. They were all worried about how the summer would progress now that Voldemort had returned, but each seemed determined not to let that force them into hiding. Harry's excitement about being able to live with his godfather was somewhat contagious, and soon both Hermione and Daphne were trying their best to look at the future optimistically.

* * *

Elsewhere in the castle Draco Malfoy sat alone pondering his future. The Dark Lord had returned, and because of it his family were now mere servants instead of the masters they deserved to be. Others, like Crabbe and Goyle, were happy with the Dark Lord's return but that was only because their families were useless without him anyway. The Malfoys, on the other hand, had grown enormously in terms of both wealth and prestige since Voldemort's fall from power. The most his father could ever hope for was to be second in command of the Dark Lord's forces, and that was not a given either. Now everything his father had built was in jeopardy. His inheritance and future was in jeopardy!

Draco knew his father would always support the Dark Lord and that he would have to as well if he wanted to live. Unfortunately there would be no going back to the way things were, the Malfoys would just have to make the best of the situation they found themselves in like always. The only bright spot he could see is that hopefully with all of this going on his father would forget his promise to punish him for having to swear to support Potter.

Finally Draco sighed and tried to push all such unpleasant thoughts from his mind. After all there really wasn't anything he could do about his lot in life, was there?

* * *

Author's Note:

You might not have noticed, but I changed the description of the story to say it begins in the fourth year rather than is set in the fourth year. I do not think I will change the title at all, after all Harry could be considered a "champion" in many ways even apart from the tournament. Thanks to everyone who gave their input on whether or not to split up the story. I think my decision reflects both what I want and what the majority of you guys want.

Some of you have wondered what exactly I was doing with the Hermione story line so far. The simplest answer is that a major theme of this story is showing different sides of the characters, most notably Harry showing a little more Slytherin with Daphne's encouragement. The ritual forced Hermione to show traits from all four houses. Her motives were mostly ambition (Slytherin) and loyalty to Harry (Hufflepuff). Only someone extremely intelligent (Ravenclaw) could have pulled it off and the way she decided to do it was both brave and foolhardy (Gryffindor). The new ability she has gained is just something I thought would be fun to play around with but won't be a gamechanger in that it will easily tip the scales in their favor. My only concern is that Hermione perhaps did not pay a large enough price, but that just depends on how you look at it. And I did like the irony of the situation.

By now you can all see how different fifth year will be. One change that's coming up is that Voldemort will see no reason to act in the shadows since everyone knows he is alive anyway. The summer will have lots of stuff going on in it, I promise that. Some of you have asked if we'll be seeing Ron again. Well his family still is in the Order of the Phoenix and there's no reason for him not to be at 12 Grimmauld in the summer so that is a yes.


	25. Chapter 25

The next day was the last full day at Hogwarts for all of its students. Early the following morning the Hogwart's Express would leave Hogsmeade headed for Kings Cross Station and summer would officially begin. As was often the case, most people in the castle spent their time trying to gather up all of their possessions and force them back into their trunks for the journey home. What time remained after that was spent with friends discussing the year that had passed and what their plans for the time before they returned would be. Lunch in the Great Hall was louder than normal and it seemed, at least for those few precious moments, most of them had forgotten the revelations of the previous day and the fact that their world had just become much more dangerous.

"Neville! Over here!" Harry called from his seat at the table. Daphne was sitting to his right and Hermione across from him as usually happened when Daphne decided to abandon the Slytherin table to sit with the Gryffindors. Neville's head turned to where he had heard Harry talking and smiled at his friends before rushing over.

"Hey guys." Neville said while sitting down. "Guess what I got on my potions exam."

"You got an 'O', didn't you?" Harry asked.

"Nope, I got a 'T'." Neville answered, but he was still smiling.

"A troll?" Hermione said, surprised. "But Neville, that's the worst grade possible!"

"I know." Neville replied. "Professor Snape said my potion was too good and that I must have cheated so he gave me a 'T'. Professor McGonagall said she would talk to him and get him to give me the grade I deserve."

"That's great, Neville." Daphne told him. "Looks like all of your hard work paid off then."

"It turns out that Harry is a lot better teacher than Snape ever was." Neville responded with a laugh. "Although it helps that Harry doesn't glare at me waiting for me to make a mistake every time we're trying to learn something."

"All I need to do is work on scowling at people and then maybe I can just replace the greasy git." Harry joked. "Hey Neville, when are you going to get your new wand?"

"Hopefully in the next few weeks, but since we can't use magic in the summer I guess it doesn't really matter. Why?"

"If you can wait two weeks I could come with you." Harry suggested. "It'll be a good way to celebrate my release from the Dursley's."

"Sure." Neville happily agreed. "Would you two like to come?" he asked, turning towards Hermione and Daphne.

"Sorry Neville but I can't." Hermione answered. "My parents and I are going to Spain in a week. I'm really looking forward to it, in fact I heard there is a wizarding section of Madrid bigger than Diagon Alley!"

"I might be able to go." Daphne said. "I'll know once I can talk to my parents about it. Sounds like fun, though." Neville nodded eagerly, happy to have friends that wanted to spend time with him. His first few years at Hogwarts had been somewhat lonely but he felt that things had really changed for the better this year. He would also gladly welcome an excuse to leave his house during the summer where the only people around were his loving but odd grandmother and his great-uncles who had always treated him somewhat cruelly especially when they thought he might be a squib.

"I promised Hagrid I would come see him before I left." Harry said as he pushed his chair back from the table. "I've got to hurry because Dumbledore wanted to talk to me, too. Any of you want to come with me?"

Eventually it was decided that Hermione would accompany Harry to meet their half-giant friend while Daphne made sure her sister Astoria was ready to leave and Neville checked on his plants in the greenhouses one last time. They were all a little sad to see the year end but were enjoying the time they had left as much as they could.

* * *

A few hours later Harry reluctantly left Hagrid's hut and headed back into the castle to meet with Professor Dumbledore. Unknown to him, a very intense conversation was underway involving the Headmaster and his spy amongst the Death Eaters Severus Snape. Dumbledore sat calmly behind his desk listening to his anxious potions professor report on the latest goings on with Voldemort.

"The Dark Lord continues to request strengthening potions." Snape said. "It's quite odd, I was allowed to study the ritual used to restore his body and by my calculations any lingering negative effects should have worn off by now."

"Is it possible a mistake was made?" Dumbledore asked hopefully.

"Perhaps, but not likely." Snape answered uncertainly. "The potion required contains some very hard to find ingredients but is none the less quite simple to brew. Even an idiot like Pettigrew should not have had a problem with it, and even if he did the Dark Lord was there observing his work and would have noticed any errors."

"The ritual he used is not well understood, it is possible that the problems he is experiencing are not out of the ordinary at all." Dumbledore suggested. "Is he able to reach his full strength with the aid of the strengthening potions?"

"Yes." Snape replied. "However, such potions are addictive and produce diminishing returns with excessive use. If the Dark Lord continues to use the potions at this pace by the end of next month they will have almost no effect on him whatsoever, but the need to continue taking them will remain."

"I trust that Voldemort is aware of this dilemma?"

"He must be, but his demands remain the same." Snape said. "I have not noticed any other issues in his well being, but he has not done anything strenuous since his return. Assuming a mistake was made in the ritual, he will most likely order me to seek out its cause and how to correct it."

"Is it possible?" Dumbledore asked.

"Perhaps, but not easily." Snape answered. "The only way to be sure would be to repeat the ritual but that would involve the Dark Lord dying again and I doubt he would be willing to do that."

"Definitely not." Dumbledore said. "Voldemort would never trust anyone enough to willingly put his life in their hands in such a way. Perhaps we can determine if a mistake was made, and I have reason to believe it was. Harry Potter is on his way here as we speak, and with his permission I would like to show you the memory of Voldemort's resurrection that he provided to me. I am curious to see if you come to the same conclusion I have."

"Very well." Snape said as he sat down and began to wait for Harry to arrive. His mind was too busy to even think about his dislike for the son of James Potter. A few minutes later Dumbledore arose from his desk a mere moment before a knock was heard at the door.

"Enter." Dumbledore called from his desk. The doors opened to reveal Harry who briefly looked surprised at seeing Professor Snape though he attempted to hide his reaction. "Thank you for coming, Harry. How are you feeling?"

"Much better, sir." Harry reported. "The pain from the Cruciatus is almost gone."

"Excellent." Dumbledore responded. "I would like to know if you would allow Professor Snape to view your memory of what happened at the cemetery. I would not ask if it were not important."

"Why?" Harry asked suspiciously. Dumbledore might trust Snape, but he definitely did not.

"We have reason to believe that something went wrong during the ritual, this may allow us to confirm that."

"Ok, then." Harry said after a few moments. He thought back to that fateful night but couldn't remember anything happening that would upset the ritual. In retrospect he was a little disappointed with how he handled the situation but there wasn't much else he could do. The three of them approached Dumbledore's pensieve where the memory had already been prepared for viewing.

"You don't have to view this again if you don't want to, Harry." Dumbledore said.

"No, it's ok." Harry assured him. "Let's go." With that they leaned closer and felt their consciousnesses being transported into the memory. Harry saw that his past self was already tied up in preparation for the ritual. Once again he saw Wormtail place Voldemort into the cauldron and add the 'bone of the father' while he struggled to free himself. Snape was watching with a great deal of fascination while Dumbledore, who had already viewed the memory, watched how the others reacted.

_"Flesh of the servant... willingly given... you will revive your master." _

_"Peter, stop!" Harry yelled. "Please don't do this."_

_"It's too late for that, Harry." Wormtail answered and raised the knife again._

_"You don't have to do this!" Harry replied, still hoping that the man would change his mind._

_"But I do. I have no choice, you see. If I don't do this he will kill me."_

_"I saved your life! You owe me." Harry said, but he knew his words were having little impact._

_"It doesn't work that way." Wormtail then turned away placed the knife on his wrist once again. He closed his eyes as if trying to work up the courage to go through with the act and then, with all his strength, pushed the blade through the flesh and bone of his arm. When he was done his entire hand dropped into the cauldron and he howled in pain._

Soon after the memory ended and the viewers exited the pensieve. When they were all sat back down Dumbledore looked at Snape and signaled for him to voice his thoughts on what he had just seen.

"It was Pettigrew's fault after all." Snape finally declared. Dumbledore smiled and nodded at the comment while Harry looked at them both in confusion. He had not noticed Wormtail making an obvious mistake, but then again he was not familiar with the ritual so maybe there was something there he did not see.

"What did he do wrong?" Harry finally asked.

"The final ingredients of the potion require not only bone, flesh, and blood but that they be taken unknowingly, willingly, and forcefully." Dumbledore explained. "What did Pettigrew say just before he severed his hand?"

"That he had no choice, Voldemort would kill him if he didn't do it." Harry said in realization.

"Exactly." Dumbledore said happily. "His statement indicates that he was acting under duress, not willingly as the ritual had required."

"So Wormtail never could have performed it correctly?" Harry asked.

"I believe in fact that he could have." Dumbledore answered. "What mattered is the emotion he was feeling as he placed his flesh into the cauldron. If you had not attempted to talk him out of doing so it is possible he would not have thought about why he was slicing off his hand and everything would have gone according to plan. It seems you inadvertently seriously weakened Voldemort."

"Weakened?" Harry said disbelievingly. "He didn't seem weak when we fought."

"Silly child." Snape said, interrupting the conversation. "Do you truly believe that the Dark Lord needed to be at full strength to defeat you? The Potter arrogance shows itself again."

"Severus is, unfortunately, correct. Even in his weakened state Voldemort is still likely the most powerful wizard in the world." Dumbledore said sadly.

"But not more powerful than you, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, even more powerful than I." Dumbledore confirmed. "True, I am one of the more powerful wizards alive but my main strength has always been my skill and creativity during a duel. Voldemort possesses so much power that he has rarely had to rely on anything else. That is a key weakness you would be wise to remember."

"Do you really think encouraging Potter to seek out confrontations against the Dark Lord is wise, Albus?" Snape asked.

"Of course not, and Harry I would hope that you know that is not what I mean." Dumbledore answered. "One day you will be ready to face him, but until then you should do everything in your power to avoid him."

"Of course, Professer." Harry answered. His battle with Voldemort days earlier had shown him that he was not prepared to fight Voldemort yet, and it was hard to predict when he would be ready to. He believed even before hearing the prophecy that his purpose in life was to fight the evil man who had killed his parents, and now that he knew for certain it was his destiny he knew that he would have to do whatever he needed to accomplish it.

"Thank you for allowing us to view that memory, Harry." Dumbledore said. "Remember that the End of Year Feast will begin in a few hours." Harry knew he was being dismissed and stood to leave.

"No problem, professor. See you then." Harry replied as he walked out of the room, leaving Dumbledore and Snape alone again.

"The Dark Lord is gathering his forces." Snape said a few minutes after Harry had left. "He's planning something, although I do not know what. The ministry is a vulnerable target now that Fudge is out and no new minister has been elected."

"Rufus Scrimgeour has been appointed interim minister, he should be able to hold things together until next week." Dumbledore answered.

"Scrimgeour is a buffoon and you know it. Furthermore the Dark Lord knows it." Snape explained. "Mark my words Albus, open warfare will begin before the week ends."

"There is little we can do to prevent that, Severus."

"Attack him now. In a few days whatever temporary advantage you could have gained will be gone." Snape implored him.

"The time is not right. I dislike that fact as much as you but I can not change it. We are ill prepared to launch an offensive against Voldemort at this time. As a result we must continue to enlist support for our side." Dumbledore explained. "I am sorry Severus, but it must be done."

"Very well, but I stand by my warning." Snape said in frustration. Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgement as Snape rose out of his chair and left the office. Dumbledore could sense his spy's worries but believed that he was doing the right thing. There would be a time for offense later, but now was not that time. As leader of the Order of the Phoenix this was just one of the difficult decisions he had to make, and he knew it would not be the last.

* * *

The end of year feast was in full swing several hours later. During such occasions the Hogwarts staff of house elves went all out to ensure that everyone had a good time. They enjoyed this time of year as well because for them it meant that the summer would begin and bring with it several months of deep cleaning that could not be done with hundreds of children around. Despite what some bushy haired elf rights crusaders believed, the house elves truly enjoyed their lives and were incredibly proud of their work.

As the food was being served and devoured all of the professors, even Snape who detested such events, sat at the head table having their own conversations and watching the students to make sure they didn't get into any last minute trouble. Luckily for them this feast was tame in that respect compared to others in the recent past. The Weasley twins had somehow managed to turn the robes of all the other house's Quidditch players Gryffindor colors and had written "Gryffindor Quidditch Rules!" on their backs. The victims of their prank might have been angrier if it had not reminded them that in a few short months they would be back to playing their favorite sport instead of watching a tournament in which only a few competed. This led to impromptu team meetings in all four houses in which the team captains demanded that their players be ready to win by the time school started again.

Once Angelina Johnson, Gryffindor's new captain since Oliver Wood graduated, finally finished giving out practice instructions for the summer Harry made his way back to his normal spot in the table where Hermione and Neville were waiting for him.

"I think Johnson's been taking lessons from Wood!" Harry said as he sat down. "She would have us practicing all summer if she could."

"Think we'll be any good next year?" Neville asked. Although he was not obsessed with the game like Ron Weasley, he did enjoy watching it.

"Should be." Harry answered. "The only weak spot will be at Keeper. There's no way we'll find a replacement as talented as Wood, he was good enough to make the team with Puddlemere United this year." Neville nodded in agreement before returning his attention towards his dinner. As Harry was about to lift a fork full of food to his mouth the doors to the Great Hall slammed open, causing everyone to jump a little. When Harry saw who had opened the doors he dropped his fork and jumped out of his chair.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled as he ran towards his godfather, not caring that the rest of the student body was watching them.

"Hello, pup." Sirius said as he hugged his godson. "It's been too long, but I'm a free man now and that can change just like we had hoped it would."

"I know." Harry answered, letting go of the hug. "Would you like to sit with us?"

"Sure." Sirius replied with a laugh. "It's been a couple of years since I last sat at the Gryffindor table. In fact the last time I did was at the end of year feast during my seventh year. McGonagall kicked James and I out of the hall and threatened to not let us graduate."

"What did you do?" Harry asked, knowing it must have been fairly serious?

"Why Harry, are you suggesting that I would break the rules? Nonsense!" Sirius laughed as they began heading back towards the table. "It could have been anyone that confunded Snape into thinking his robes were on fire after all. McGonagall never even bothered to check our wands, just assumed it was us."

"So who did it?"

"Moony! And he got away with it, too. Last prank of the year was on us, I suppose." Sirius answered as they sat down. The rest of the Gryffindors were looking at them oddly, it was out of ordinary for an adult to be sitting at their table. Sirius seemed oblivious to their stares and proceeded to help himself to some of the food that was available. "I've missed Hogwart's cooking." he said between bites.

"A little better than what they serve in Azkaban?" Harry asked.

"You have no idea!" Sirius replied with a grin. "That was enough to make me want to escape by itself." Harry laughed and then noticed that Dumbledore was staring at them strangely from the head table while McGonagall was laughing at something.

"Sirius, did you tell Dumbledore you were going to show up early?"

"Of course not. Where would the fun in that be?" Sirius answered. The two continued to happily talk for the rest of the meal and Harry was beginning to look forward to spending his summer with Sirius even more. The two had had very few opportunities to talk face to face since Sirius went on the run again after Harry had discovered his innocence. Although they had gotten along perfectly so far a small part of Harry wondered what it would be like when they did live in the same house.

Harry's thoughts on the subject were interrupted when Professor Dumbledore rose from his chair and began to signal for everyone to quiet down so he could give his usual speech.

"Another year has passed at Hogwarts..." Dumbledore began "And I must first thank all of you for the graciousness and hospitality you showed our guests from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. I am truly proud of all of you. The Triwizard Tournament was an unexpected event for all of you but you managed to handle the changes admirably. Let us also applaud both of our champions: Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff!" Cedric stood up and waved as everyone, including the Slytherins clapped for him. "And the winner of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter of Gryffindor!" Harry smiled and stood like Cedric had done while the student body applauded his achievement. Their reaction to him was about the same as towards Cedric, except the Slytherins refused to clap for him at all.

"But as the year ends we must also acknowledge the changes that have happened as well. As you have heard by now, Lord Voldemort has returned." Most of the students, and some of the professors, gasped at Dumbledore's use of the name Voldemort. "Hogwarts remains the safest place in the world, and while you are here you should have no fear of Voldemort. But while you are gone you must be aware of your surroundings at all times. Many good witches and wizards have lost their lives because they were not paying attention to what they were doing."

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Professor Moody yelled from the other end of the table, prompting a few people to nervously laugh.

"Indeed." Dumbledore agreed. "If you do find yourselves in trouble seek help from Aurors if possible or any trustworthy adults that may be in the area. I wish to see all of you again in September so please heed my warnings. There is a war brewing in our world, one that has lain dormant for the past thirteen years but has now returned. Good must answer the challenge of evil if our way of life is to persevere. One day you will all be asked to take your place and join the fight, but for now it is important that you dedicate yourselves to learning and focus on protecting yourselves and those you love.

"For some of you this is your last year at Hogwarts and you are now faced with the decision of what to do with your lives. I urge you to seek out where you can best serve our society, because we need you now more than ever. Harsh times surely lay ahead, and I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you plan on doing. It has been a pleasure teaching you these past seven years and watching you grow into fine young witches and wizards. Rely on each other, and we will make it through these troubling times." Dumbledore raised his cup at this point to make a toast. "To you, the Hogwarts class of 1995."

Everyone applauded again at this point, but many of them were a bit disturbed with the tone that Dumbledore's speech had taken. The students were all too young to remember what it had been like during Voldemort's reign of power and were clearly unsure of what his rebirth meant for them. But still they clapped politely, or excitedly in the case of the seventh years, and went on with their meal as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Hey Sirius," Harry said a few minutes later, "Where are we going to be staying this summer?"

"Don't worry about that, Harry." Sirius assured him. "The Blacks are an old family and owned a few homes that, since I am the last of the Blacks, are now mine. We'll be staying in one of them, the house I grew up in actually. It wasn't the happiest place but it will do."

"It can't be any worse than the Dursley's." Harry commented.

"No, not anymore." Sirius laughed. "You know I met your aunt Petunia once. She called me a freak and ran out of the room."

"Sounds exactly like her." Harry agreed. "That is pretty much how she acts around me, too."

"I tried to convince Dumbledore not to make you go back there at all this summer." Sirius explained, "But he wouldn't back down. Next year will be different, even if the old goat disagrees."

"It's ok Sirius, really. I can handle the Dursley's." Harry assured his godfather.

"Of course you can." Sirius answered. The feast was beginning to end as people left the Great Hall and headed out for one last night of fun in the castle. "So, I still want to meet this girlfriend of yours. You're not trying to hide me from her are you?"

"Maybe I am." Harry replied jokingly. "She's still sitting at the Slytherin table with her little sister. Let's go and I'll introduce you." They both stood up and walked over to the other table where they received a mixture of glares and confused looks from the students. Two seats across from the Greengrass girls were open so Harry and Sirius sat down. "Daphne, Astoria; I'd like you to meet my godfather Sirius Black. Sirius, this is Daphne and Astoria."

"A pleasure to meet you both." Sirius said with a small bow of his head.

"Funny, you don't look like someone who spent a decade in Azkaban." Astoria replied.

"Astoria, that's rude." Daphne commented with a small sigh.

"No, no, it's ok." Sirius assured her with a grin as he looked back at the younger girl. "I've had a year out and am feeling much better now. If you'd like we can all take a field trip there this summer so I can reminisce. I'll even bring the chocolate."

"No thanks." Astoria said instantly. She doubted the man was serious, but his eyes held a mischievous look that made her uncertain about that.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr Black." Daphne said. "Harry talks about you a lot."

"All good I should hope, and please just call me Sirius. 'Mr Black' makes me feel ancient." Sirius responded. "You're Daniel Greengrass's daughter, correct?"

"So you know him?" Daphne asked.

"I did, long ago. We both worked at the Ministry for a few years, though in different departments." Sirius explained. "Also our families were in some of the same social circles. He was a good man then, I trust he still is."

"I think so." Daphne answered. "Perhaps we should have you both over for dinner sometime soon."

"Lovely." Sirius replied. "And I am sure Harry is eagerly awaiting a chance to spend time with your family." The other laughed at this thinly veiled reference to Harry's worry about whether or not Daphne's parents would like him.

"Yes, Sirius." Harry confirmed. "Eagerly."

"What do you think about Harry dating a Slytherin?" Astoria asked, wanting to see if there was any tension over the situation.

"I have no problems with it. Why should I?" Sirius replied. He then looked over at Harry and pretended to whisper, although the volume of his voice did not lower much at all. "When you're older I'll tell you about the time in sixth year when Professor McGonagall caught me in a broom closet with the seventh year Slytherin girls prefect. Two weeks of detention for that, but it was well worth it."

"I think you just told me all I want to know about it." Harry answered with a small shake of his head. As they continued talking for the next half hour Harry was quite relieved to see that Sirius seemed to like Daphne and she enjoyed his sometimes odd sense of humor. By the time they had finished their conversation and left the Great Hall Sirius had told Daphne to feel free to come to his home and visit Harry any time she wanted to, another fact that made Harry happy.

Eventually it was time for Sirius to leave, which he reluctantly did. Harry tried not to get too down about it because he knew that in just two weeks they would see each other again. Daphne and Harry accompanied him to the front gates to see him off and stayed until Sirius had walked past the wards and apparated away.

"He's not what I expected." Daphne said once Sirius was gone.

"How so?" Harry asked.

"It's amazing that after all that time in Azkaban he can still laugh and smile. He must have a very strong will."

"It helped that he was innocent." Harry commented. "Remus says that Azkaban changed him into a more serious version of himself, but prison could never break him." Daphne nodded at Harry's statement and wrapped her arm around Harry, bringing him into a hug. They stayed that way for a few moments before Harry said "Last night here, what do you want to do?"

"Let's take a walk by the lake, it's one of my favorite places." Daphne said. "It reminds me of you."

Harry smiled and led her down to the lake where they had often sat and talked over the last year. As they did they both reflected on how things had dramatically changed since the beginning of the year. The previous September they rarely spoke to each other, Harry spent his time with Ron & Hermione, Daphne alone or with her Slytherin classmates, neither of them seriously worried about the future, and the world was at peace. Now they both hated to spend too much time apart, their group of friends consisted mainly of themselves, Neville, and Hermione, and they both spent much of their time worrying about what was to come now that the war with Voldemort was restarting. There were definitely things they would change about the past year if they had the chance but both were happier now than they had been before despite the problems they faced.

For Harry their situation made him think of his parents and what they must have felt when they were teenagers. Like them, James Potter and Lily Evans had been forced to balance their love for each other with the stresses that life during wartime forced on them. Harry wished they were still alive so he could talk to them and ask them how they did it, but sadly he could not. The pain of losing that part of his family was eased by the realization that he had gained in his friends and godfather a replacement family that would be there for in a way the Dursley's, though they were his relatives, never would.

Hours later the night ended with the couple going to their respective dorms for their last night in the castle of the year. Tomorrow morning they would leave the safety of Hogwarts and be forced to face a wizarding world that had been vastly changed in the past few days and the uncertainty that went with it. They both hoped they would be able to protect the other during this new challenge.

* * *

Author's Note:

Congrats to those of you who recognized that my inspiration behind the green haired summoner was in fact Rydia from Final Fantasy IV. This, however, is not a crossover story and I purposefully did not explicitly state that it was Rydia. Think of it as more of a cameo appearance than a true crossover if you want. I haven't decided if I might borrow some of their more interesting summons but it is possible. I will add this though, ever since I had the idea to base a (minor) character on the story on Rydia I have been wanting to have Harry cast Meteo on somebody, perhaps a spoony bard of some sort.

Anyhow, school's over and we can now get into the summer. Onward, ho!


	26. Chapter 26

"Get in the car, boy. I can feel those freaks staring at me!" Uncle Vernon demanded as Harry approached his relatives. Harry sighed in frustration while he loaded his belongings into the trunk before getting in to the back seat where Dudley was shoving a candy bar into his mouth. His aunt in the front seat meanwhile was apparently trying to ignore the fact that he existed at all. When everything was put up and Harry had closed the car door Vernon sped off away from King's Cross Station and all of the freakishness it contained.

Neither Harry or Sirius was happy about the fact that Dumbledore was sending him back to the Dursley's at all this summer, but at the moment there was little they could do. Sirius was in the process of becoming his guardian, at least as far as the magical world was concerned, but his request was taking longer than it should have due to the massive changes going on in the Ministry of Magic. So, for now, Dumbledore had the power to force him back into his relatives home but even he knew that he could not keep Sirius and his godson apart for too long. Dumbledore insisted that he was only acting in Harry's best interest and that #4 Privet Drive offered him far better protection than anywhere else but Harry had a hard time believing that. Harry didn't believe Dumbledore had any idea what life with the Dursley's had been like for him, or if he did know then the Headmaster had just been ignoring it. Either way, Harry was still stuck with his relatives for the next two weeks and he wasn't happy about it.

As the car and its passengers made their way out of London and towards Little Whinging Harry was glad for the silence that came with his relatives ignoring him. He thought about the train ride out of Hogwarts that had been in some ways less eventful than others. Malfoy almost always made it a point to come find him on the train and try and insult him for one reason or another, but this time he hadn't seen the Slytherin at all. That, and the fact that he didn't have to deal with hours of Quidditch trivia from Ron, made the trip a lot more peaceful than others. He had instead spent the time with Daphne, promising her that he would write and come see her as soon as possible.

"Freak, things will be different this summer..." Vernon said looking back at Harry through the rear view mirror. "No more slacking off like usual."

"I won't be your slave anymore Uncle." Harry answered. "Besides, I will be gone in two weeks. Less if I have anything to say about it."

"What are you on about?" Vernon asked. "That Bumble-oar freak said you'd have to stay all summer."

"And when did he say that?" Harry asked, wondering what it was the Dumbledore was up to.

"It was in a letter we got yesterday. Some big, ruddy bird nearly set the house on fire delivering it." Vernon rambled. "That's the problem with you freaks, always have to use the stupidest way available to do anything. Why not just use normal post? Or pick up a bloody telephone and call! But no, you lot has to try and burn my expensive couch to a crisp just to send a simple message!" Harry was barely paying attention to his uncle at this point, he was much to angry to worry about his annoying relatives. He recognized it as another one of Dumbledore's silly little games, but what was the point in this? All it would do would be to anger him and his godfather. He knew Dumbledore had not given up on the belief that it was important for him to stay with the Dursley's, but Harry was still a little shocked that the Professor would lie to him in an attempt to remain in control of the situation. Sirius was going to be livid when he figured out what had happened.

"Ignore it." Harry commanded. "One way another I will be gone in two weeks. In the meantime I'll agree to cook your meals and clean up after myself, but nothing more. Get Dudley to mow the lawn, it looks like he could use the exercise anyway." Harry looked over at his cousin who apparently didn't even realize he had just been insulted. The candy bar he had been eating when Harry got into the car was long gone and had been replaced by a bag of pretzels. Vernon and Petunia, however, had not missed Harry's verbal jab at his cousin and were both glaring at him.

"It's not his fault that my Duddy-kins hasn't lost his baby fat yet!" Petunia shrieked, making Harry want to cover his ears. "Besides, he's just big boned like his father."

"I won't let some freak like you talk ill of my family, boy." Vernon said in his most menacing tone, but after going face to face with Voldemort it would take much more than that to scare Harry.

"If you hadn't noticed, Uncle Vernon, we are family." Harry answered. He was slightly amused by the bright red color his uncle's face turned when he said that. "After the two weeks are up I am going to live with my godfather. You remember Sirius Black, don't you? He was sent to prison for murdering all of those muggles, people without magic like you, and then he escaped from a prison that was supposed to be impossible to escape from?"

"You mean they haven't caught him yet?" Petunia asked nervously.

"Sirius will never spend another day in prison." Harry answered, purposefully omitting the fact that Sirius was of course innocent of the crimes he had been imprisoned for and had later been cleared of all charges. His statement seemed to quiet the Dursley's down and he hoped it would signal that he would be left alone for the next fourteen days. The rest of the ride was completely quiet which made it one of the most enjoyable times he had ever spent with his relatives.

* * *

Far away an expansive mansion sat under powerful wards and multiple layers of defenses. Lord Voldemort had taken control of the building after brutally murdering its former owner and his family during his first rise to power. Over the years he had turned the former home into an impenetrable fortress that he felt would protect him almost as well as his rival Dumbledore was protected within Hogwarts. He knew that with enough power any fortress could fall, but neither the Ministry nor the Order of the Phoenix had ever felt brave enough to challenge him here.

But despite the advantages the mansion held Voldemort often despised the place and what it represented. His reputation as a rising dark lord in his younger days had been greatly enhanced by attacking and overwhelming inferior wizards where they felt the safest, like the fortress in which he now sat. He would much prefer to stay mobile and in doing so never let his enemies know where an attack would be coming from. It was only his weakened state that had eventually convinced him to take refuge in his old base, the existence of which was only known by his inner circle of Death Eaters.

Something had gone wrong in the ritual to restore his body, he was quite sure of that. Unfortunately he had spent the ritual in the cauldron writhing in agony while the bubbling potion tore his rudimentary body to shreds. The pain had been worth it though, even if the procedure was not completely successful. And, if he was lucky, his problems could still be corrected. He had ordered Severus Snape, easily one of his most intelligent followers, to look in to what had gone wrong.

He had often wondered about Snape's true loyalties. After all that had happened he still had no real reason to think that Snape was disloyal to him, despite what had happened in the years after his fall from power. During those days his Death Eaters had thought only of themselves, and while that was behavior that deserved punishment it was quite understandable. No, the problem that Voldemort had with his spy the man's clear talent for deception. Dumbledore, despite his many flaws, was no fool. And one way or the other Severus Snape had managed to completely fool one of the most powerful wizards ever. The only question was which one?

Despite his worries he knew Snape would not fail to report back everything he needed to know on how to correct the ritual. The only problem they faced was that only two people had witnessed the ritual and neither of them were available to him. Barty Crouch Junior had been knocked unconscious prior to the ritual and was only awoken the next day after long hours of healing and multiple potions. The fact that he was alive at all was some what of a miracle. Peter Pettigrew, or Wormtail as he was growing fond of calling him, had been captured and was being held in Azkaban. The man was a stupid and weak wizard and under normal circumstances Voldemort would not even consider trying to free him, but these were not normal times. The other witness was Harry Potter, the so called Boy-Who-Lived.

"Damn you, Potter." Voldemort said to the empty room. If anyone had been around to hear it they would have been quite disturbed by the way the Dark Lord cursed his enemy. How had Potter lived through a second killing curse, Voldemort wondered. It simply did not make any sense. Was it truly impossible for him to kill the boy? "It must have something to do with that prophecy..." the Dark Lord realized. He knew there was more to the prophecy than his spy had heard and it was now more important than ever for him to hear it. A prophecy like that, he knew, would be recorded and available in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry to those it concerned. Perhaps he could lure Harry Potter into the Hall of Prophecies and have him retrieve the prophecy for him before the Boy-Who-Lived finally died at the hands of Lord Voldemort... But then again, if the prophecy did say he could not kill the boy it would be better for him to not involve the child. Besides, the plan was overly elaborate and full of chances for it to fail. He was not hiding from the world so there was no reason for him not to just bash his way into the Ministry and take the prophecy himself.

But first there were other things to do... Planning must begin at once.

* * *

Harry had only been at the Dursley's one day and he was already desperate to leave. Surprisingly his main problem wasn't his relatives treating him poorly, his mention of Sirius Black seemed to have frightened them away from that for now. No, Harry's problem was boredom. His days had been so busy in the year that had just ended he had never really taken the time to appreciate how full his days were. Between school work, sleep, time with friends, training for the tournament, eating, and time with Daphne just about every minute of his day had been accounted for. Now he couldn't practice magic, his friends weren't around, the tournament was over, and he had no books worth reading. The one thing that held his interest was the portable wizard's radio that Daphne had given him before they left Hogwarts so that he could keep up with what was going on.

Harry had never really paid much attention to the radio before but was already quite intrigued by the device and the programs that were available on it. Many of the channels were filled with music that sounded much like it's muggle counterparts. In fact it was clear that some bands were heavily influenced my muggle popular music and were trying to recreate that sound but with lyrics appropriate for wizards. Other channels, the ones that Harry was more interested in, featured non-musical programs that included news programs and educational series. Most of the talk he had heard so far centered on discussing who would replace Cornelius Fudge as Minister of Magic. Rufus Scrimgeour, who had been appointed Interim Minister, was the early favorite with Amelia Bones a close second. Both were seen as fine choices to lead the Ministry now that You-Know-Who had returned.

The return of Voldemort was the other popular topic, although they never used the name Voldemort. Some refused to believe that the Dark Lord was back and pointed to the fact that there had thus far been no attacks as proof for their point of view. Others argued that Pettigrew could not have lied during his testimony due to the Veritaserum so it must be the truth and they should do everything in their power to prepare. Although Harry agreed with this side of the debate, the side that seemed to have the most supporters was the one that decided to take a "wait and see" attitude. He wondered if they realized they were doing exactly what Voldemort would have wanted them to do.

Eventually Harry grew frustrated with the radio arguments and turned the device off and went to sleep. The first day at the Dursley's was nearly over and he had made it through fairly easy. He only hoped the next thirteen would be so easy.

* * *

It was two days later that Harry realized his house was being watched.

#4 Privet Drive sat in sprawling suburban neighborhood full of children so it was not odd to see people walk past on the sidewalk. In fact their house was not too far from a small park that many kids spent their days at, including Dudley who enjoyed tormenting the younger children and smoking cigarettes in the park with his friends. Harry had been in the kitchen looking out the window while washing dishes on a Wednesday afternoon when he first noticed anything was odd. Over the years Harry had grown to enjoy cooking, and after spending most of the year at Hogwarts where the house elves would literally throw a wizard out of the kitchen if they asked to prepare themselves something it was nice to be able to embrace his hobby again so he didn't really mind the fact that he was feeding the Dursley's as well.

It was after lunch that he first noticed an attractive, young woman walking past the house. She was dressed normally, at least as far as teenage fashions were concerned, in jeans and a t-shirt. Her hair had been dyed a dark red color that was almost maroon. As she passed she took a brief look at the house but didn't stop walking. Harry had almost forgotten about her when another girl walked past ten minutes later headed in the opposite direction. She too wore jeans but also a denim jacket with a strange variety of pins and buttons on it. Her hair was short and pink and her face was slightly rounder than the other girl's had been. Still, Harry thought they looked similar as if they might be sisters.

Another ten minutes passed and a different girl walked past the house headed the same way the first girl had. This one was of a similar height and build to the first two but wore shorts and a tanktop and had long blonde hair put up into a pony tail. She, just like the others, looked at the house as she passed by but kept on walking. He had gotten a good look at her face and was struck by the feeling that she looked familiar, but he could not remember where he had seen her before. As she walked away Harry noticed that her shirt had a large logo on it saying "Weird Sisters", which also seemed familiar to him. He had to think about it for several minutes before he realized that it was the name of a popular band, more precisely a popular band popular with students at Hogwarts and made up entirely of witches.

But the question remained, who were these witches? What did they want from him? Did Dumbledore send them, or Voldemort? He knew that there were allegedly powerful protections over the house that would prevent anyone who wished him harm from finding him, and if true that would suggest they were not a threat. Still, Harry wasn't sure. He knew they had passed every ten minutes, and if that was going to continue to be true he had less than five until their next pass and they would probably be coming from the same direction as the second witch. Harry decided to take the matter into his own hands and ran outside to hide behind a bush so he could observe the next person who passed by. As always, he had his wand with him and was holding it tightly in his right hand as he waited.

Exactly as he expected, a young woman similar in looks to the three previous witches passed by the house a few minutes later. This one had bright blue hair and was, strangely, wearing exactly the same thing the first witch had worn. As she passed the house the glanced up at it but unlike the others she stopped. She was looking right at the kitchen window where Harry had been standing just minutes earlier and he knew for certain she was looking for him. Harry sat in the bushes for a moment longer trying to figure out what he wanted to do. The witch, and he was quite sure now that is what she was, had her wand sticking out of the back pocket of her jeans. Harry briefly remembered Mad Eye Moody yelling at the class about how that was an awful idea but tried to put that out of his mind as he prepared to leap from the bushes.

"Don't move!" Harry yelled as he rushed out of his hiding spot. The witch turned in surprise at his sudden appearance but before she could react Harry had yanked her wand out of her pocket and was pointing both wands at her. "Who are you? Why are you watching me?"

"Easy there, kiddo!" the witch said, trying to calm Harry down. "No one's trying to hurt you."

"Maybe, maybe not." Harry answered. "Where are the others?"

"Huh?" the witch replied, evidently confused. "What others?"

"The other witches that have been watching me." Harry demanded to know. "Where are they?"

"Oh! Now I get it!" she said. "I'm the only one. Here, watch." The witch closed her eyes in concentration and a moment later her hair began to rapidly change colors, going from blue to green to yellow to orange to red and finally stopping on a shade of bright pink. After that her hair looked as if it were being pulled into her head until it was only an inch or so long, but then began to lengthen back to what it had been before.

"You're a metamorphmagus, aren't you?" Harry asked, still not lowering either wand.

"Got it!" the witch answered excitedly. "The name's Tonks. Nice to meet you, Harry." She offered her hand to him as if she wanted him to shake it but Harry only laughed and kept the wands pointed at her.

"Ok then, Tonks. Why are you here?" Harry asked.

"It was Dumbledore's idea." she explained. "Personally I think it's kind of silly. They tell you 'Come join our super secret anti-You-Know-Who army!' and what do they make you do when you agree? Watch a fourteen year old, that's what. I'm a trained Auror, there's got to be better things for me to do than this."

"Almost fifteen." Harry said a little defensively. "So Dumbledore has the Order of the Phoenix watching me?"

"Didn't know you knew about that." Tonks replied. "But yeah, he does. We've met before you know. I was one of the Aurors that came to find you after you saved those kids from the Dementors. And actually we were both at Hogwarts together for a year, but seventh year Hufflepuffs don't generally hang out with first year Gryffindors."

"I remember now, you had pink hair that day." Harry said as Tonks nodded. He finally lowered the wands and handed Tonks' back to her. "You really shouldn't carry that in your back pocket, you know."

"Damn, I'm going to hear all about it from Moody when he finds out aren't I?" Tonks replied with a look of frustration. "Or we could both forget to mention it to him? How about it, huh?"

"Maybe." Harry answered. "Why didn't he just send Sirius? I'm sure he wouldn't have minded."

"Well... I'm probably not supposed to know about this but good old cousin Sirius and Professor Dumbledore aren't exactly getting along with each other right now." Tonks explained. "I'm not sure what it's about, but Sirius has been pissed off at the old man for the last day or two."

"I bet I can guess what it is." Harry replied. "You're Sirius' cousin? He never mentioned he had a cousin named Tonks."

"Technically Tonks is my last name, but no one calls me Nymphadora and gets away with it."

"Nymphadora?" Harry said, grinning. "Yeah, I can see not liking that."

"That's your one freebie." Tonks replied, glaring at him. "Don't do it again."

"Fine, but aren't you supposed to be protecting me and not threatening me?" Harry asked. "Anyhow, I guess I'll go back in. Have fun staring at me for the rest of the day. Oh and can you tell Sirius that I'll see him in two weeks no matter what? I'd appreciate it."

"Sure thing." Tonks answered. "See ya around, Harry."

Harry nodded and walked back towards the house as Tonks walked in the opposite direction, presumably to find a good spot to watch the house from. Once inside Harry really began to think about what Dumbledore had been doing in the past few days. The prophecy explained why the old man thought it was so important that Harry remain safe, but the way he was going about making sure of that was clumsy and irritating. His actions were already making some people who should be close allies unhappy with him for no good reason. There were plenty of places where Harry would be safe, he knew, not just the Dursley's. Overall it was a frustrating situation, but Harry felt relieved by the fact that he knew this was one battle the great Albus Dumbledore would not win.

As the following days passed Harry realized he wasn't receiving any mail, an odd thing considering several people had promised to write him. He tried sending a letter but Hedwig returned a few hours later still carrying it. Harry felt certain that Dumbledore was somehow behind this, even if he didn't know how or why. If it weren't for Daphne's radio, which Dumbledore did not know about, Harry would have been almost completely cut off from the wizarding world. His one contact, that he guessed Dumbledore also didn't know about, was Tonks who he sometimes talked to during her shift as his guard. Apparently Harry was not supposed to know she was there and so she had neglected to report that Harry had caught her the first day she was watching him.

What he had learned was that in a few days the hearing to determine whether or not Peter Pettigrew would receive the Dementor's Kiss would be held, immediately followed by the election of the new Minister of Magic. In that contest Rufus Scrimgeour was expected to win, barring any major scandal in the next few days. Most of the commentators Harry had heard over the radio spoke positively of the man, but Harry knew better than anyone that the media was not always trustworthy. Much more interesting was Wormtail's hearing. His questioning had been interrupted during his brief trial the previous week but this time around Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore would control the proceedings and be able to ask all of the questions he wanted to with the aid of Veritaserum. Speculation was rampant as to who would be revealed as a follower of You-Know-Who and what other information the man could provide. Harry thought the situation was a little funny and wondered if the Malfoys were busy trying to get out of the country. He eagerly looked forward to the day when Lucius Malfoy would face judgment and only hoped he would be there to watch.

* * *

Wormtail was in hell. Or, at least, he thought he was. He simply could not imagine a place worse than Azkaban prison. He had been in a panic when the Aurors had dragged him into his cell and left him alone in the cold, bare room. For a few brief moments he thought that perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as everyone said it would be, and indeed for those first few minutes he thought he would be able to make it through without any problems at all. But then the Dementors, who had stayed away while the Aurors were present, found his cell and began tormenting their new victim.

Peter had never felt fear or despair as intense as he did that night. It made the fear he felt when groveling at his masters feet seem small and insignificant. All of his worst nightmares felt as if they were coming true all at once and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. For hours he screamed into the darkness, but no help ever came. No one was there to show him pity or kindness and he soon came to believe that pain was all that existed in his world. In the still sane part of his mind he reasoned that at least there could not be anything worse than that night. But he was wrong. There was always the next night.

As the days passed what weak mental protections his mind had were obliterated as the Dementors continued to feast on his sanity. Soon he could barely tell the difference between day and night or when he was asleep having nightmares or when he was awake facing those same awful visions. His only brief refuge came when the Aurors brought him his food for the day and the Dementors retreated back to wherever it was they came from. These periods lasted for no more than fifteen minutes, but in that time Wormtail thought he would do anything to escape from this hell. Loyalty had never been his strong suit, but he knew he would sell out anyone he had to if there was a chance to leave this vile place. He only hoped for a chance to betray his fellow Death Eaters.

Then, one night, the Dementors left his cell and his sanity slowly returned to him. Though he didn't know it, it was late Friday night and the next day he was scheduled to go before the Wizengamot again. He waited for the guards to come and bring him his food but the minutes passed and no one came. Eventually his fear and depression had retreated far enough for him to wonder what was going on, and that is when he heard the first screams. He tried to decide if they belonged to guards or prisoners but there was no way to tell. Soon the screams were joined by loud thunderous booming sounds that could only be explosions. Not knowing what was going on, Wormtail decided to lay as far back in his cell as he could curled up into a little ball. He pressed his hands hard against his ear and tried his best to block out the sounds of a war going on around him, but it was only partially effective. It was in this pathetic position that he was found a short time later.

"Wormtail. Rise." a calm but threatening voice called to him. Wormtail felt compelled to listen to the voice, but his fear was still too strong and he remained on the floor hoping whoever had come into his cell would go away. "Now, Wormtail!" the voice said, this time much louder. Wormtail could no longer ignore the voice so he looked up and saw the Dark Lord Voldemort standing in his cell. Wormtail briefly thought he would rather have been faced with a Dementor but obediently began to stand up.

"Master..." Wormtail said roughly. He wondered why he had such problems talking, but realized he had done nothing but scream for the past week.

"Come. We are leaving." Voldemort said as he turned and walked out of the cell. Wormtail nodded and followed his master and as he exited his cell saw what had happened in the prison. Dust and debris were everywhere and it appeared as though several of the walls had been knocked down. Dead and dying guards were scattered about the prison and some of the being held captive were pleading to be released. The amount of destruction that he saw on their way out of the prison shocked him and Wormtail wondered how many other survived. But as he neared boats that had been prepared to take them away from the island prison he saw others who, judging from their appearances, could only have been inmates and knew that the Dark Lord had just won his first victory of this new war. His earlier thoughts of betrayal were forgotten as happily realized he was free again.

"Morsmordre!" he heard someone yell. The sky was immediately filled with the bright green light of the Dark Mark, and as Wormtail stared up at it a smile began to form on his face for the first time in days.

* * *

Author's note:

Thanks again to all of you who have stuck with the story this far. I really hope you are enjoying it. Updates might come a little slower for the next little bit, as in once every 10 days or so instead of once a week like I have been doing. As always I'd love to hear comments and suggestions on the story.

Edit: You guys caught my moment of stupidity. Harry is almost fifteen, not sixteen.


	27. Chapter 27

Harry had decided to sleep in the next morning, and as a result he missed the initial reports on what was already being called the 'Massacre at Azkaban' on the radio. For many in the wizarding world this attack came as a complete surprise, although in retrospect it really should not have. It was suddenly clear that they were a nation at war and many people were not ready to deal with that yet.

At about 11:00 AM Harry finally rolled out of bed and turned the radio on, hoping to hear the questioning of Peter Pettigrew. But what he found was something completely different.

"...and we can now report that the death toll has risen to nine Aurors, all of whom were on the night shift at Azkaban prison. No names have yet been released out of respect for their families. Our sources tell us that there are typically fifteen Aurors assigned to the prison at that time of day but we have not been given final word on how many were there last night. Additionally another half dozen or so inmates appeared to have died during the early morning attack, however information on that is still scarce." Harry heard from Daphne's small radio. As he listened he sat back down on his bed in shock. He had been expecting Voldemort to make some type of move soon, but this was a bold one even for him.

"For those of you just joining us, late last night Azkaban prison was attacked by a group identified as Death Eaters and led by no other than You-Know-Who. This is the first confirmed sighting of the previously believed dead Dark Lord since his return was announced by Death Eater Peter Pettigrew before the Wizengamot one week ago. The purpose of the attack appears to have been to free Death Eaters which had been imprisoned. We do not yet have a full list on which prisoners escaped but a preliminary list includes Peter Pettigrew, Rastaban Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, and Gabriel Greengrass."

Harry let out a gasp of surprise at the last name. He had completely forgotten that Daphne's uncle was still alive and being held captive in Azkaban. He did remember that the man had been a loyal Death Eater for several years before Voldemort's fall in 1981, and that he was imprisoned after a foolish attack on the Ministry in an attempt to uncover more information on his master's whereabouts. He wondered how Daphne and her family were reacting to the news, but without being able to send her a letter there was no way for him to find out.

Harry was still listening a few minutes later when he heard the doorbell ring. Curious as to who would be visiting, Harry walked downstair and opened the door. Again, he was surprised at what he found.

"Moony? What are you doing here?" Harry said as he smiled at his old Professor.

"Not glad to see me then? Perhaps I should go." Remus joked. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Harry answered. "My aunt and uncle are supposed to be gone for the day, so hopefully you won't have to deal with them.

"Good, they weren't the nicest people around if I remember correctly." Remus replied. Remus sat down in the chair Harry had pointed him to and began to look around nervously, as if he wasn't sure about what he was going to tell Harry. "Harry, I need to tell you about something awful that happened last night..."

"The Azkaban breakout, right?" Harry asked.

"How did you already know about that?" Remus said in surprise.

"I have a radio upstairs that Daphne gave me. I haven't had anything better to do so I've been listening all week." Harry told him. Remus nodded at the answer and seemed a little relieved that Harry already knew.

"Then you already know that Wormtail has escaped." Remus said.

"Yeah, I know." Harry said with a little bit of anger evident in his voice. "Next time we catch him we'll just kill him, I'm tired of the little rat managing to free himself no matter what we do." Remus looked up at Harry with an odd expression on his face as if he had not expected to hear that from Harry but he did not say anything about it. He simply shrugged and continued on with the conversation.

"Well, then I guess I'll try and get to something that you don't already know. Dumbledore doesn't know that I'm here, he would never approve if he did. Sirius wanted to be here, but he knew Dumbledore would be watching him and thought it would be smarter for me to do it." Remus explained. "Harry, Dumbledore wants to keep you here the entire summer."

"It's ok, Moony. I already knew. My uncle let it slip on the way here." Harry answered. "And he's been withholding my mail, too. What I don't understand is why he is doing it. And what are we supposed to do about it?"

"We're already working on it." Remus assured him. "And in way, what happened in Azkaban will help us."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Dumbledore has been pushing to get Scrimgeour into office all week for some reason." Remus began. "Apparently he thinks he will be able to exert more influence over him than he would Amelia Bones. We think he was going to use that influence to slow down Sirius's application to become your guardian in the magical world. Even Dumbledore doesn't have the ability to stop it from happening, but he could slow it down so that you would have to stay here the entire summer."

"Why, though?" Harry asked. "It doesn't make any sense."

"All he will say is that you are safer here than anywhere else. Sirius doesn't buy that, either." Remus said. "It just so happens that Sirius and Amelia Bones were friends back before he got thrown into prison. Sirius was an Auror in those days and she was somewhat of a mentor to him. After everyone found out he was innocent Madam Bones invited Sirius over for dinner so she could apologize to her old friend for all that had happened to him. This wouldn't make much of a difference except now everyone is looking for someone to blame for what happened at Azkaban."

"And it's going to be Scrimgeour because he was Interim Minister, right?" Harry asked.

"Exactly, and that means Bones is now the frontrunner to become the next Minister of Magic." Remus replied. "Really though, it wasn't Scimgeour's fault. There wasn't anything he could have done in a week that would have prevented it. But the press don't care about that and are already calling for his head. Supposedly he is going to remove his name from consideration and claim that he would be better utilized dedicating his time to the war effort. It's a smart move, politically speaking. What it means for us is that Dumbledore has spent his time and effort on a losing candidate, while Sirius got lucky and is friends with the winner who just happens to feel like she owes him something."

"That's great!" Harry said with a smile on his face. "So can we leave now?"

"That's really up to you, Harry." Remus answered. "Dumbledore did have a reason for originally wanting you to be here for two weeks. That is the amount of time it would take for the protections around this house to be recharged so that they can last another year. You will have somewhere safe to go if you leave now, but the Dursley's will be unprotected. We know how awful they've been to you, so Sirius and I both think the decision on what to do should be left to you."

"And what about Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"For the moment, his attention is on other things and by the time he does realize what's going on we will hold the advantage over the situation. Don't worry about him right now."

"Ok." Harry said with a nod. "So if I leave now, how long will the wards last?"

"Those kind of things are hard to predict." Remus answered. "But, if I had to guess I would say a week, maybe two if they're lucky."

"But if I stay another week, they'll last the entire year." Harry replied with a small frown on his face. To Remus Harry appeared deep in thought, even to the point of standing up and pacing about the living room. "They're awful people, Moony. Truly dreadful. But I don't want their blood on my hands. I'll stay another week here, as long as you can promise me that when the week is up I'll be able to leave."

"You will be." Remus assured him. "Dumbledore won't have they authority to keep you here any longer."

"Good." Harry said. "And he better have a damn good excuse for what he's done the next time I see him, because the way he is acting is unforgivable."

"Sadly, this is not out of the ordinary for Dumbledore." Remus explained. "He's been leading the fight against dark lords for over fifty years and thinks he knows better than anyone else what to do. He's not a bad man, Harry, and he does mean well. But he is likely to do things that will confuse and anger his allies. I doubt anyone really knows what he's thinking and why he does the things he does."

"How is he going to react when he realizes what's going on?"

"I honestly don't know." Remus replied. "He will probably try to convince you to come back here, but legally he won't be able to force you to. Now I guess I better go. I was only able to come because Mundungus Fletcher is supposed to be watching you right now but I know for a fact he is slobbering drunk somewhere in Hogsmeade. Someone will be here to pick you up when the two weeks are done."

"Thanks Moony, I appreciate your help." Harry said sincerely. "Tell Sirius I'll see him in a week."

"No problem, Harry. Do try and take care of yourself." Remus said as he rose out of his chair and walked towards the door. Once he had reached the door he paused and turned back to look at Harry again. "What are you going to tell your family?"

"To run. Maybe they'll even listen." Harry answered with a shrug. Remus nodded and walked out the door. Harry watched him walk down the sidewalk until he turned the corner and stepped out of view. When he was gone Harry went back inside to listen to more reports on the radio and think about what he had learned.

Harry wasn't sure what to do about Dumbledore when he did eventually free himself of the Dursley's. Dumbledore's decision to try and force him to stay with his relatives the entire summer had caught him off guard, even despite his uncertainty on how much to trust the old Headmaster. Harry simply could not understand why a week ago Dumbledore would ask his permission for Snape to view his memories and then go behind his back to trap him at the Dursleys a day later. What had changed? He wasn't sure and from what Remus had told him no one really did. Once again Dumbledore was withholding information from everyone, perhaps even those who needed it most.

He was relieved to know that Sirius and Remus were both trying to solve his problem, even if he wasn't there to help them. He knew he would need their help in the coming days, especially when it came to finding and destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes. That thought brought the responsibilities of his summer back to the forefront of his mind. In the lazy days of the last week it was easy to forget that the rest of the summer holidays would be filled with things he had to do. He doubted the Dursley's would ever realize what he had sacrificed for their benefit.

* * *

The rest of the day passed uneventfully at #4 Privet Drive, but elsewhere major changes were being made. As Remus had predicted, Rufus Scrimgeour announced that he no longer wished to be considered for the position of Minister of Magic. In a speech to announce that decision he pledged to continue his work as Head of the Auror Office and promised victory over the dark lord. His announcement was met with applause but very little surprise. Hours later Amelia Bones was elected by the Wizengamot to be the new Minister of Magic by an overwhelming majority. Harry laughed when the newscaster on the radio noted that Sirius Black was seen congratulating Minister Bones shortly after her election. Remus was correct in pointing out that Sirius' connections with the new minister were far closer than those Dumbledore had with her and that was good news for Harry. About the time Harry decided he had heard enough and went to turn the radio off he heard a car pull up to the house and knew his relatives had returned. Harry decided to meet them downstairs and get what had to be done out of the way.

When the Dursley's walked in the door they found Harry staring at them from across the room with his arms folded on his chest. They all could tell that something was very wrong from his appearance, but none of them were sure what it could be.

"Boy, what are you up to?" Vernon asked, but the normal anger in his voice had been replaced with confusion.

"Sit down, I have something important to tell you." Harry answered.

"I will not let a freak like you tell me what to do in my own house!" Vernon yelled back, his anger finally returning.

"Then stand, I don't care." Harry replied. "But you will listen to me because your life will be in danger if you don't." Vernon continued to grow angrier, but Petunia sat down on the sofa with a terrified look on her face, as if she knew what to expect.

"What's happened?" Petunia asked quietly.

"Voldemort has returned." Harry answered. He turned towards Vernon to explain. "Voldemort is the evil wizard that killed my parents. When he tried to kill me something went wrong and his body was destroyed."

"That bastard Dumb-door said he was dead and we had nothing to worry about!" Vernon shouted.

"Almost everybody thought he was." Harry replied. "But they were wrong. The war has already started again, it's only a matter of time before the muggles notice that something is going on. Because of what happened the last time, I am one of Voldemort's main targets. Because of that, your lives are all in danger." Petunia shrieked at Harry's announcement while Vernon turned a strange purple color as his blood pressure continued to rise.

"Get out! Get out right now!" Vernon yelled as he stalked towards Harry. "If that maniac wants you then I say let him have you! But you will not endanger my family!" Before Vernon could close the distance between them Harry had drawn his wand and was pointing it at his uncle. He only hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

"Not so fast, Uncle." Harry said. "Because I am here this house is protected. If I left now those protections would fall within the week and then the evil wizards I have been warning you about would come here and kill all of you. But, if I stay here another week the protections will last for another year. That should give you time to move somewhere else where they won't look for you."

"How dare you do this to us!" Vernon said loudly. "This is our home, we will not leave!"

"Then they will find you, and you will die." Harry responded. "This is your only chance, I suggest you take it. In a week I will be leaving here and hopefully I will never have to see any of you ever again."

"Won't they find us no matter where we go?" Petunia asked softly. She, better than Vernon, understood the danger they were in. "They have magic, how can we hide?"

"It won't be hard." Harry assured her. "Wizards, for the most part, are completely ignorant on how the muggle world works. They would never even think to look in a phone book for your address, assuming they had even knew phone books existed. The farther away from here you can get the safer you'll be. Out of country would be the best, if you can manage it."

"I'll not be chased out of my home by a bunch of freaks!" Vernon yelled, obviously clueless on how dangerous Harry's enemies were.

"Vernon, dear, I think we have to listen to him." Petunia said. Vernon turned his head sharply towards her and seemed surprised that she was disagreeing with him. "That monster killed Lily. We may not have always gotten along, but that doesn't mean I can't still see that there is no way we could to be able to defend ourselves against a bunch of wizards as well as she could."

"Don't be ridiculous, Petunia!" Vernon bellowed. "Once we get rid of the brat they'll have no reason to come after us. He is only trying to scare you."

"You're wrong." Harry said. "Voldemort will kill you just because you know me. He'd kill anyone if he thought it might upset me, even a little bit. You have no idea how evil and cruel he can be. If he finds you he will torture you until he gets bored and then murder you in the most gruesome way he can imagine. I am trying to help you avoid that."

"Oh, really!" Vernon scoffed. "Can't you see the boy's crazy Petunia? He's a freak and the biggest mistake we ever made was taking him in."

"Quiet Vernon." Petunia said much to the surprise of everyone else in the room. "How much time do we have again?"

"As long as I stay here another week you will have a year." Harry explained. "But I suggest that you be out of here in a couple of months just to be sure."

"I see." Petunia answered sadly. She looked around the room briefly and Harry could tell she would be disappointed to leave it, even if he thought her decorations were hideous.

"Petunia, honey, we can't leave!" Vernon said. "Where would we go, what would we do?"

"I don't care, Vernon!" Petunia yelled back. "As long as you and Dudders are safe it doesn't matter!" At this she began to sob and Vernon had no choice but to try and comfort his wife. He sat down next to her on the sofa and put one of his chubby arms around her, pulling her close to him as she cried into his shoulder.

"There, there. Everything will be alright. You'll see." Vernon assured her. "Perhaps we will sell this house. It's a bit cramped anyway, isn't it? And the neighborhood has certainly gone downhill the past few years. It might be nice to get away from all this freakishness." As he talked Petunia continued to cry, but she did answer his words with small nods of agreement. Harry watched and was a little bit surprised by both of them and their behavior. His aunt and uncle were showing affection, even love for each other and that almost never happened in this house. It made him wonder how his life would be different if either of them had ever really cared about him, but he knew the time when that was a possibility had long passed. In a way, his uncle was right to blame him for the situation. They would still be blissfully unaware of what was happening if it weren't for him, but as muggles they would still be in danger from the threat that Voldemort posed. Especially if he was successful in creating a world where he ruled. Shaking his head at the thoughts, Harry decided to just leave the room and let them have their moment together.

* * *

In the days that followed Harry spent much of his time listening to the radio, hoping to hear more information on what was going on and dreading to be told of another attack. So far, however, Voldemort had not struck again. The commentators argued about what it all meant, but it was clear that they were just frightened about what would happen next. The Ministry of Magic, now under the leadership of Amelia Bones, announced that they were increasing funding to the Aurors effective immediately so that they could hire and train new recruits to help in the war effort. Unfortunately some people were still reluctant to admit that they were in a war at all and insisted that now that the Dark Lord had his followers back he might just leave them alone. Harry, of course, knew this was rubbish.

For the most part the week was uneventful. The Dursley's seemed even more annoyed than ever by his presence but clearly wanted him gone more than they wanted to fight with him. That suited Harry just fine and he was happy to avoid them as much as possible, He often thought how happy he was that he did not have to stay much longer at the house.

Finally Harry's last day at #4 Privet Drive came. He woke early that morning and gathered his things, making sure not to leave anything he wanted behind because he knew he would never return to the house. By the time he began hauling his trunk down the stairs it was only a little past 7:00 AM, meaning that Vernon should have already left for work but everyone else should be asleep. Harry was therefore quite surprised to see his aunt sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee.

"Sit down, Harry. Please." Petunia said when she saw Harry moving his trunk towards the front door. Harry frowned at her for a moment, unsure of what she wanted, but finally decided to humor her and sit down.

"I should be out of here in a few hours, Aunt Petunia." Harry said, thinking that might be what she wanted to know. Petunia merely nodded and took another sip of her coffee.

"You don't like us very much, do you?" Petunia asked after a few moments. Harry started to say something, but Petunia waved her hand as if to silence him. "I suppose we've never given you a reason to, maybe I owe you an apology for that. We never wanted you, Harry, but that's no secret. It's also no excuse for what we put you through."

"Why are you saying this to me?" Harry asked. "Why now? Is it just to make yourself feel better?"

"Because I feel guilty!" Petunia said, raising her voice for the first time. "Because I know that if something had happened to Vernon and I and your parents had to take Dudley in they would have raised him as their own son, magical or not."

"That's probably the nicest thing I've ever heard you say about my parents." Harry replied sarcastically.

"I... No, you're right. It probably was." Petunia agreed. "Another thing I hope you'll be able to forgive me for."

"I don't know that I'll ever be able to forgive you, Aunt Petunia. Or the rest of your family" Harry answered honestly. "But I am trying to save your lives, isn't that enough?"

"Just promise me we'll be safe." Petunia pleaded with him.

"I can't do that." Harry replied. "I wish I could, but I just can't. It might be safer for you if I don't even know where you're going, to be honest. I'll try and send you some way to contact me, if you really need to. Once I can use magic again I can charm something to be able to alert me if you're in danger."

"You would do that for us?" Petunia asked uncertainly.

"I suppose so." Harry answered just as uncertainly. "Hopefully this war will be over soon, and then we won't have to think about each other anymore."

"Will it be over soon?"

"Maybe. I know how to end it, and if the prophecy is right I'm the only one who can." Harry explained, not bothering to tell her the details of what he meant. "But it could be years until we finally bring Voldemort down. There's no way to tell." Petunia nodded and sipped at her cooling coffee again. Harry thought that she looked a little calmer now than she did at the start of their conversation, but the terror was still there just under the surface. Harry knew he had done all he could, and was willing to do, for them. If they listened to his advice they would probably survive, if they didn't they would likely die. There really wasn't anymore to it than that. "I'm going to wait outside. Goodbye, Aunt Petunia."

Harry walked out of the kitchen and towards the door as his aunt also got out of her chair and watched him leave. He had already moved his trunk outside and was about to close the door when he heard his aunt speak again.

"Goodbye, Harry. I'm sorry I never loved you." Petunia said softly, but loud enough for Harry to hear. Harry froze at the words, uncertain on how to respond, but in the end just nodded and closed the door without saying anything. That, he hoped, would be the last time he ever had to see his aunt.

Harry pulled his trunk to the end of the sidewalk and sat on top of it while trying to clear his head of the conversation he had just had. He had never really understood the Dursley's and doubted now that he ever would. That, however, was not something he would ever lose sleep over.

He had no idea when someone would be coming to get him or where he could find Sirius, so even with his ability to apparate Harry felt a little trapped. Technically there should be someone from the Order of the Phoenix watching him, but he knew that was not always the case. The minutes slowly passed and soon Harry was beginning to worry that he would be sitting outside all day waiting. It was over an hour later when Harry finally saw someone he recognized walking down the sidewalk towards the house.

"Sirius!" Harry called as he jumped up and ran towards his godfather.

"I said I'd be here, didn't I?" Sirius asked. "I see you're all packed, ready to go then?"

"Absolutely." Harry answered. As they turned to go get Harry's things they heard a soft popping noise that both of them recognized as the sound associated with apparition. In a fraction of a second both of them had their wands out and pointed towards the source of the noise, only to lower them a second later.

"Hello Albus, something I can help you with?" Sirius asked with a hint of anger evident in his voice. Professor Dumbledore stood in front of them with a disappointed look on his face, meanwhile Harry was glaring at the man angrily.

"Harry, I apologize for decieving you but you must understand staying here really is in your best interest." Dumbledore said, ignoring Sirius. "I only want to keep you safe."

"I don't know what you're up to, Dumbledore, but this isn't about my safety." Harry replied. "What's this really about?"

"I promise you, Harry, what I do is for the greater good." Dumbledore answered. "Please remain here until school starts again."

"Harry, I need you to look at this." Sirius interrupted, slightly turning his back on Dumbledore. He handed Harry a slip of paper on which an address was written. Instantly Harry felt the knowledge of where Sirius lived enter his mind. "Now, why don't you apparate us out of here? I'd like to see you do it."

"I can't, Sirius." Harry said. "Underage magic restrictions, remember?"

"About those, Minister Bones decided to get rid of them for all students currently enrolled in any magical school." Sirius answered with smile on his face. "You can use magic as much as you want with no worries. It's nice to be a friend and advisor to the Minister, isn't it?"

"Sirius, you know Harry needs to stay here!" Dumbledore said loudly, but Harry and Sirius were still ignoring him.

"That's brilliant!" Harry said excitedly. "Let's go." Harry placed one hand on Sirius and the other on his trunk and before Dumbeldore could say anything else they disappeared, leaving the old Headmaster standing in the muggle neighborhood alone. He sighed and shook his head, wondering how he had allowed things to slip so far out of his control, before he also disappeared in the same manner Harry had.

* * *

Author's Note:

Yay for being free of the Dursley's. I didn't want that section to last any longer than I felt it needed to. Now on to more interesting things...

Good call on those of you who noted my mistake last chapter. It has been corrected. Thanks again for all of your comments including corrections, reviews, and suggestions. I definitely have a good idea on where I am taking this, but is there anything you guys really want to see that you think I haven't considered? Let me know, maybe it will show up.


	28. Chapter 28

When Harry and Sirius arrived at their destination Harry found himself staring at long row of houses that looked almost identical to each other. He looked up and down the row, wondering which one belonged to Sirius until finally his godfather spoke.

"Think about the piece of paper I showed you, Harry." Sirius advised him. Harry nodded and remembered the address that had been written down. As soon as he did he saw that two of the homes appeared to be moving apart to make way for another house that had been sandwiched between them.

"That's amazing!" Harry said with a goofy grin on his face. Even after years of living in the magical world he had still not lost the joy of seeing something new and unexpected. "This belongs to you then?"

"That's right." Sirius answered with a nod. "This is the house I grew up in. Welcome #12 Grimmauld Place, home of the Blacks." Sirius led Harry up to the door but stopped once he had placed his hand on the doorknob and turned towards Harry. "I do have to tell you something before we go in. The Weasley's are inside."

"Why aren't they at the Burrow?" Harry asked curiously, but without any anger in his voice. Although his friendship with Ron had fallen apart he still liked the rest of the Weasley family, especially the twins.

"This is also the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix." Sirius explained. "Arthur and Molly are members, and she offered to help clean up. Until about a month ago no one had lived here since since my mother died, which was many years ago. Magical houses develop unique problems when they're left alone for that long, especially in a house like this."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

"My family enjoyed a vast collection of dark objects, many of which attract dark creatures." Sirius said. "The hard part about cleaning this house isn't the dirt and grime, it's the dangerous objects and creatures that are lurking inside of it. I'm sure you'll see though, Molly has been making her kids help and will probably ask you to as well. It'll at least be something interesting to do."

"I don't mind helping." Harry answered. "Let's go in." Sirius nodded and opened the door. After taking a few steps he turned and put a finger over his mouth, telling Harry to be quiet. Harry looked confused for a second before Sirius pointed to a painting of a woman at the end of the short hallway who appeared to currently be sleeping. Once they were past the painting and into another room Sirius stopped to explain.

"Sorry about that." Sirius said. "The painting is of my mother and she's even more foul in death than she was in life, as hard as that is to believe. Unfortunately we can't silence her and no one's been able to break the sticking charm holding her to the wall. So for now we just try not to let her know we're here." Harry nodded in response and they continued on towards the kitchen. Even before he entered the room Harry could hear the sounds of several members of the Weasley family talking and laughing. He smiled at the pleasant sounds until a terrifying thought struck him: would Mr and Mrs Weasley treat him different after what happened between him and Ron? He hoped not and stepped into the kitchen, realizing that was the only way to find out.

"Harry, dear!" Molly Weasley called as soon as she saw him. She had been at the sink washing dished but rushed over and pulled him into a hug which he happily returned. As he hugged her Harry looked around the room and saw Fred and George sitting at the table discussing something while Ginny sat listening to them with a disgusted look on her face. Harry could only imagine what they must be talking about. Ron was opening and closing cabinets as if he were looking for something, most likely food Harry guessed. A few seconds later she pulled back so she could get a better look at him. "You've grown like a weed, Harry! But you're still much too thin, are you hungry? Lunch isn't for a few hours but I could whip something up if you'd like."

"No thanks Mrs Weasley, I'm fine" Harry said with a grin. "Hey everybody."

"Harry my good old chap! My brother and I were just talking about you." one of the twins said. Harry thought it was Fred, but wasn't sure.

"Oh? And why is that?" Harry asked as he walked towards the table and sat down. Sirius went over and began talking to Molly while Ron continued to search for something to eat, apparently oblivious to everything else.

"We'd like to do you a favor." the other twin said. Harry immediately became suspicious of this supposed 'favor' that Fred and George wanted to do for him.

"Really?" Harry asked skeptically.

"We're offering you the once in a lifetime chance to become part owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!" George replied proudly. Harry merely raised an eyebrow in response. "That's our business, of course."

"Right you are, Fred." the other twin, who Harry believed actually was Fred, said. "For the low, low price of one thousand galleons we are prepared to make you an equal partner. One third of our empire will be yours."

"How convenient that I just happened to have won a thousand galleons in the Triwizard Tournament." Harry noted with a laugh.

"Did you?" George asked.

"We must not have noticed. How convenient, indeed!" Fred replied.

"So, partner? What do you think?"

"Why not." Harry shrugged, knowing he had more money in his vault anyway. "But I get to be a silent partner, ok?"

"No problem!" Fred answered with an enthusiastic nod. "I can cast the silencing charms myself."

"That's right." George agreed. "You'll never have to say another word in your life." At that both of them began to laugh as if what they had said was the funniest thing in the world. Ginny dramatically rolled her eyes at their antics but Harry just smiled. It was good to be back with friends and away from the Dursley's.

"You'll never see those galleons again, Harry." Ginny warned.

"We'll see." Harry answered. "But I've got a feeling these two are a good investment."

"What's so funny?" Ron asked as he sat down at the table. He had a plate of cookies in front of him and was greedily munching on one.

"These two just conned Harry out of his prize money." Ginny answered. Ron's jaw dropped in shock and he looked back and forth between the twins and Harry who merely shrugged.

"What a horrible thing to say, my sweet sister!" George replied, looking offended. "Just watch, in a year you will be kicking yourself for not letting us con you, too."

"So how long have you guys been here?" Harry asked, changing the subject.

"A couple of days." Ron answered between bites. "Mum's been working us like house elves the whole time. She's got us cleaning without magic like a bunch of muggles."

"You guys do know you can use magic now, don't you?" Harry said. From the looks the four Weasley siblings were giving him it was obvious that they didn't know the restrictions on underage magic had been lifted. Harry found it all incredibly funny and started laughing.

"He's lying. He's got to be right?" Ron said. "Somebody would have told us..." Harry shook his head and pulled out his wand. To prove that they could indeed do magic he cast the summoning charm on one of Ron's cookies and caught it in his other hand. As he began eating it the Weasley's all started grinning, happy that they now knew they could use magic. Even Ron, who Harry didn't think had smiled in his presence in months, looked genuinely happy.

"Uh oh, Molly." Sirius called from the other side of the room. "I think Harry may have just let our little secret slip." Sirius just sat back and laughed as the Weasley children began asking, all at once, why she hadn't told them earlier. In her defense the changes to the law had only been in effect for less that twenty four hours, but they felt like they should have been told at once. Harry laughed as well, knowing that Sirius had expected this result from his comment. Harry and Sirius used the distraction the Weasley's argument provided to slip out of the room so they could look at the rest of the house.

"You know this house is bigger than it looks." Harry said as they turned down a hallway.

"Of course!" Sirius laughed. "It's a magic house. Your room is this way, right across the hall from mine. Molly thought it would be a good idea for you and Ron to share a room, but considering I'm your guardian and you'll be spending summers here from now on I thought you'd appreciate your own room."

"Thanks, Sirius." Harry said gratefully. "I have to share a room with Ron almost ten months out of the year and his snores could wake the dead. It'll be nice to get away from that for a while." Sirius nodded in understanding as he led Harry towards a door which he assumed led to his new room. Once there Sirius dramatically opened the door and showed Harry inside. A smile immediately appeared on Harry's face as he looked around his new room. It, unlike the rest of the house, was bright and happy showing that Sirius had put quite a bit of time and work into it. Red and gold, Gryffindor colors, were on most of the furniture which also looked brand new.

"Do you like it?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"I love it." Harry answered, to which Sirius smiled happily and hugged his godson in relief. Harry continued to look around and his eyes caught sight of something he wasn't expecting: a fireplace. "Sirius, is that connected to the floo network?"

"I was wondering if you'd notice." Sirius replied. "It is, although I trust you won't abuse this privilege. No one can floo in or call unless they have been told our address because of the Fidelius, but you should be able to floo out and call anywhere without a problem. Do you want to try it out? I bet I can think of someone who's been dying to hear from you these past few weeks. Go ahead, I'll be in the kitchen waiting when you're done."

"Thanks Sirius." Harry said gratefully. Sirius grinned at Harry's happiness with his new room before walking out the door and heading back down the hallway. Harry walked towards the fireplace and found a container full of floo powder sitting on the mantle. Taking a small handful, Harry threw it into the flames and watched as they turned bright green. He then stuck his head into the flames, as he had seen others do, and said the address that Daphne had given him: "Greengrass Manor:"

For a moment Harry felt a pull on his head, as if the floo was attempting to suck him into the flames, but that soon ended and he was was left staring into a dark void for a few moments. Although he knew his body was not moving he still felt as if he were being thrown down some long, dark tunnel. Finally he saw light ahead of him in the distance and as it approached he could see that he was looking at someone's living room. He looked around at the room, which appeared to be quite formal and expensively furnished, and wondered if they had any way of knowing he had just floo called.

"Who is it?" a feminine voice called from the hallway.

"Hello? This is Harry!" he shouted, hoping that they'd hear him.

"No need to yell." the girl, who Harry realized was Daphne's sister Astoria, said as she walked in the room. "How's it going, Harry?"

"Not bad. Is Daphne around?" he asked, eager to speak to his girlfriend.

"Yeah, I'll go get her." Astoria answered. Harry could clearly hear her yelling "Daphne! It's Harry!" as she walked out of the room. Harry chuckled at the girl's antics and waited for Daphne to arrive. He did not have to wait long for her to run into the room looking even more beautiful than Harry had remembered. They both grinned at each other as Daphne sat down next to the fire so she could more easily talk to Harry.

"I missed you." Daphne said once she was seated.

"I missed you, too." Harry answered. "But I'm with Sirius now and I'll be able to see you whenever we want."

"How was the Dursley's?" she asked, hoping they had not lived up to their reputation.

"No fun, but it could have been worse." Harry answered. "On the bright side I never have to go back."

"Good." Daphne said with a smile. "Oh, Neville sent me a letter saying that he is going to get his wand tomorrow. Are you still going?"

"Definitely." Harry answered. "You'll be able to make it won't you?"

"Yes, on one condition. My parents want to have you and Sirius over for lunch before we go to Diagon Alley." Daphne replied. "Oh don't make that face, Harry. You know they're going to like you."

"I know no such thing, I just hope so. I'll have to tell Sirius, but I doubt he will have a problem with it. We should be there." Harry said. "How are things with your family? I heard about your uncle escaping on the radio..."

"We're fine." Daphne assured him. "And my uncle hasn't tried to contact us at all, not that my father really expected him to. He won't be able to get past the wards over our house anymore even if he did try and come here so we should be safe. It's strange though, I've never seen my father so angry."

"You don't think he'll go looking for your uncle, do you?" Harry asked.

"Maybe." Daphne answered with a worried look. "There's something about my uncle that my father isn't telling me, that's what I think. There has to be for him to react this way, but I don't know what it is."

"I hope he'll be careful." Harry said thoughtfully. "It's going to be dangerous out there."

"I know, and so does he." Daphne said. "Don't forget that my father is a powerful wizard, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his daughter. He can take care of himself."

"I believe you." Harry answered with a smile. "So, tell me what else has been going on." From there Harry and Daphne launched into a long conversation which forced each of them to consider how much they had missed talking to the other during the last two weeks. For the most part they stayed away from the important subjects that had taken up the first part of their conversation and instead focused on catching up with each other. It was easier and happier for them to temporarily ignore the troubles of their world and focus on the good.

After almost an hour of talking, Daphne's mother's voice was heard in the background asking her to come help with something. Reluctantly the couple said their good-bye's and ended the floo call with assurances that they would see each other again tomorrow. Harry pulled his head back from the fire and found that ending a floo call was much easier than starting one. The trip back through the dark tunnel was almost instantaneous and the only problem he had was that he had pulled back far too strongly, resulting in him tumbling back away from the fireplace and crashed into a nearby chair. He looked around and noted with relief that no one had been there to see his little accident.

After getting up and shaking off the soot from the fireplace Harry walked back downstairs to the kitchen where he found Sirius sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet and Mrs Weasley busy cooking lunch. The Weasley children were nowhere to be found.

"Where'd everyone go?" Harry asked as he sat down at the table.

"They're upstairs getting rid of some doxies that had infested a spare bedroom. Once they realized they could do magic again handling some annoying fairies didn't seem like such a bad job." Sirius explained. "My guess is they are seeing who can get rid of them in the most creative way possible."

"Sounds interesting, but I'll pass for now." Harry said. "Anything interesting in the Prophet?"

"Just the usual trash." Sirius answered with a sigh. "Voldemort hasn't been making obvious moves since the Azkaban breakout. We think he's taking the time to rebuild the Death Eaters and recruit more allies. Unfortunately that shouldn't take long."

"Is the Order doing anything about it?" Harry asked.

"Just gathering information, mostly." Sirius answered. "Speaking of which, there's a meeting scheduled for tonight. I tried to get you permission to sit in, but Dumbledore and a few others don't think you should. There isn't really anything I can do about that, but I'll pass on anything I know that I think you need to hear."

"Thanks, Sirius." Harry replied. "I have a strange request to make. Daphne's parents want to have us over for lunch tomorrow before we go to Diagon Alley to get Neville's new wand. Will that be ok?"

"Ah! Meeting the girlfriend's parents are you?" Sirius said with a laugh. "Are you sure you want me there? I might be unable to behave and will make a horrible impression."

"Very funny, Sirius." Harry said. "I know you can act like an adult when you have to."

"Yes. That's unfortunately more often then I'd like." Sirius agreed. "Sure, I'd be glad to go with you Harry. Remus and I were going to come with you to Diagon Alley anyway."

"As chaperones or just bodyguards?"

"A little bit of both, I guess." Sirius replied. "You can't afford to let your guard down Harry, you know that."

"You're right." Harry agreed with a sigh. "But that doesn't mean I can't wish you weren't."

"Fair enough." Sirius said. "Now I've got a little project for us to work on for today. The basement of this house is huge and I was thinking that if we could get it cleaned up it would be a perfect place for us to practice dueling over the summer. I was an Auror once, I'm sure I have some tricks I could teach you."

"That's brilliant, Sirius!" Harry said happily. "Let's go!" Sirius laughed and together they went down to the basement. Harry found Sirius's description of it was quite accurate. With its large, open floor plan and high ceiling it would be perfect for their intended use if they could ever get it clean. Unfortunately it appeared that a hundred years worth of junk had been thrown in the space and it all had to be sorted before moving it. Harry knew that even with magic it would take several days to finish the task but the reward at the end would be well worth it. He couldn't wait to face Sirius and hopefully beat his godfather in a duel.

* * *

Hours later people began arriving at the house for the Order of the Phoenix meeting. Many of them, such as Tonks and some of the professors from his school, Harry recognized but most he did not. He, along with the Weasley children, were told to wait upstairs during the meeting and warned not to come downstairs unless their lives were in danger. Ron and Ginny grumbled unhappily about it but Fred and George immediately began discussing ways to listen in without going downstairs. Harry felt confident that within a few weeks they would have figured out someway to learn what was being talked about, but for now they were out of luck.

The meeting lasted over an hour and at one point Harry swore he could hear Sirius yelling from all the way upstairs, although he had no idea what Sirius was so angry about. Despite their earlier protests Harry and the others managed to stay upstairs the entire time. It was easier for Harry because he knew Sirius would tell him anything he needed to know anyway, but by the end Ron was on the verge of running down the stairs.

"All you're going to do is get yourself in trouble, Ronnie-kins." George said teasingly. "You've got to be smart about this, not just run off without a plan."

"Oh yeah?" Ron replied. "If you're so smart, what's your plan?"

"You'll see." Fred answered with a smile.

"You two never tell me what you're doing!" Ron said unhappily. "I only find out about what you're doing when you prank me."

"This prank isn't for you, little brother." Fred assured him. "Although, now that you mention it, it has been a while since we've pranked you..."

"Very true, Fred." George agreed. "We'll fix that. Maybe not tonight, or tomorrow, or even the next day. But we'll be coming for you Ron. Count on it." Ron angrily left the room after George's vague threat and the twins immediately started laughing at his reaction. Harry silently watched the conversation between the siblings and tried to stifle the laugh that was trying to work its way out. He and Ron had not spoken to each other much since his arrival at the house but Harry hoped that they would be able to get along and maybe even start to repair some of the damage that had been done to their relationship over the last year. He wanted Ron to his friend again, but he knew that would be impossible if Ron wouldn't grow up a little.

"We're done." Sirius announced as he walked up the stairs with Remus following close behind him. "Weasley's, your mother wants you all downstairs." The Weasley children nodded and walked out of the room leaving Harry, Sirius, and Remus alone.

"So, what happened?" Harry asked.

"Not here, we don't have much time left." Remus answered. "Follow me."

Harry wondered what was going on but followed them, wondering if there was any danger. They walked up another set of stairs to the third floor and then to the end of the hallway. When Remus opened the door Harry saw that a large steel cage that looked like a prison cell had been built inside.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"It's the full moon, Harry." Remus explained. "I have to be locked up. Even with the Wolfsbane potion I will feel safer knowing I can't get to you."

"I'm sorry, Moony." Harry replied. "I didn't even realize that was today." Remus nodded and walked into the cage. As the door closed a loud click was heard signalling that the door was indeed locked. Remus made sure to carefully hand his wand and coat over to Sirius before sitting down in the middle of the cage.

"It's not a problem." Remus said. "Thank you Padfoot, for setting this up for me."

"We're brothers, Moony. Of course I'd do this for you." Sirius replied. "How much longer?"

"I'm not sure." Remus answered. "But soon."

"Moony..." Harry interrupted. "Does it hurt? When you transform?"

"Yes, it does." Remus replied from inside the cage. He scratched his chin as if thinking about how he wanted to answer. "But the Wolfsbane helps. So does having Padfoot around. When he and your father were finally able to complete their Animagus transformations and spend the nights with me when I was a werewolf it was one of the happiest moments of my life."

"I wish I could do that for you." Harry said sincerely.

"I know you do, and I appreciate it all the same." Remus said with a smile. Then suddenly his smile turned into a grimace and he raised his hands to his head as if he were in pain. "Padfoot, check the lock!" Sirius ran over and pulled on the lock but it was secure.

"It's good, Moony. Don't worry." Sirius assured his friend. Remus nodded a little but then the transformation overtook him. Remus moaned in pain as his body started to change shape and coarse hair sprouted all over his body. He dropped to the ground and Harry watched in fascination as his hands slowly became paws and his face elongated into a snout. Soon the painful transformation was complete and a large ferocious looking werewolf was sitting in the cage where only moments before his normal looking former professor and friend had been. Moony sniffed at the air and seemed to glare at Harry and Sirius but did not make any move to attack them. The Wolfsbane potion was working as intended.

"I wish he didn't have to go through that." Harry said as he looked at the werewolf pace inside the cage.

"So do I." Sirius agreed. "Come one, let's sit down." Sirius led them over to a small table and a couple of chairs that had been placed in the room and sat down.

"How was the meeting?" Harry asked finally.

"Boring for the most part. Snape was being a jerk, as usual." Sirius answered. "There was one thing that I thought you should hear now before you find out tomorrow. Dumbledore found out we were having lunch at the Greengrass's tomorrow..."

"And let me guess." Harry interrupted. "He doesn't think we should go."

"No, not that." Sirius answered. "He wants me to offer Daniel Greengrass a place in the Order of the Phoenix, like he had done in the last war so long ago." Harry's jaw dropped open in shock, he had not been expecting that. "What do you think he'll say?"

"I have no idea." Harry answered honestly. "I get the impression he doesn't like Dumbledore very much."

"Sometimes the old man makes it easy not to like him." Sirius replied. "I'm going to make the offer anyway. It'll be up to him to decide what to do." Harry nodded, thinking that probably was the best way to approach it. Suddenly Moony howled and Harry's attention was brought back to him.

"Sirius, how did he become a werewolf? What happened?" Harry asked. Sirius sighed a little before answering.

"He was just a little kid when it happened, not even old enough to go to Hogwarts." Sirius answered. "His father had somehow insulted a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback and as revenge Greyback made sure he was near the Lupin's house on the next full moon. When night came he changed and attacked. Moony's parents were ok but he got bit, there wasn't anything they could do to stop the infection once that happened."

"Whatever happened to Greyback?" Harry asked.

"He's still out there somewhere." Sirius answered. "He followed Voldemort in the last war so it's possible he has rejoined the Death Eaters. He particularly likes biting children, the sick bastard."

"Oh." Harry responded, unsure of what else to say. "I'm glad you and my dad were there for him."

"Me too." Sirius said. "Back then he was so scared that when we found out he was a werewolf we wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore. But James just swore we would learn to be Animagi so we could still be with him, and we did." Sirius sat back and smiled as he thought about happier memories from his younger days. Harry decided not to say anything because he felt like he was intruding on a private moment.

"It's getting late, I think I'll go back downstairs." Harry said a few minutes later. "Coming?"

"In a little bit." Sirius said. "For now I think Padfoot wants to come out and play." Harry smiled as Sirius transformed into a large black dog that briefly came over and licked Harry before running off towards the cage where Moony sat watching them. Harry observed the two friends for a moment and thought he might never see anything as odd as a smiling werewolf. As the two animals began to play Harry left the room so the two old friends could spend time together like they had so often before.

* * *

Author's Note:

Yes, the Weasley's are back. I'm still not sure what I want to do with Ron. I can't see Harry wanting to be around someone so immature, but I also doubt that Ron is willing to grow up. What do you guys think?

Big things planned for the next few chapters; hope you guys are liking how the story is progressing. Thanks again for all the reviews!


	29. Chapter 29

"Something wrong Harry? You look nervous." Sirius commented with a grin. He and Harry were had just arrived at the Greengrass's home and were standing in front of the door waiting for someone to answer their knocks. Harry looked at Sirius and frowned in response to his statement.

"I'm fine, Sirius. And I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to make me panic about this. It's a calm lunch, nothing to be worried about." Harry replied. Sirius snickered but didn't say anything else. Their wait did last much longer because the door soon opened and revealed Daphne who was smiling brightly at her visitors.

"Harry!" she said excitedly as she rushed forward to hug her boyfriend for the first time in a few weeks.

"Don't mind me, I'll just avert my eyes." Sirius said as he began to look away.

"Good to see you again too, Sirius." Daphne laughed. "Please come in, everyone's waiting." Daphne led her two guests through an impressive hallway lined with portraits of Greengrass's from days past and into a room that felt somehow more relaxed than the other parts of the house Harry had seen. This room was circular with the outer edges lined with large, leather couches. The walls contained not portraits but a huge mural that showed a mountainous landscape. The mural was obviously magic, as Harry could see the trees swaying in the wind and even animals moving about. As interesting as it was, Harry only gazed at it for a moment before focusing on the family in the room that had stood to greet their guests.

In front was young Astoria, who Harry had come to know better since beginning to date Daphne. She waved at Harry as he came in but then tried to straighten up and act formal as perhaps her parents expected her. To Astoria's left was her father, Daniel Greengrass. Harry wasn't sure what he had expected the man to look like but he had to concede that Daphne was correct in one sense, he was intimidating. The man was tall and broad, reminding Harry of what the professional beaters he had seen at the Quidditch World Cup looked like. He had short dark hair that was beginning to gray but that did little to detract from his overall youthful appearance. He was not smiling, but the look in his eyes showed that he was enjoying the tenseness of the situation. His wife, Penelope Greengrass, stood beside him. With her flowing blonde hair and and bright blue eyes Harry thought she looked much like an older version of Daphne. Unlike her husband, she was smiling towards Harry and Sirius.

"Sirius, a pleasure to see you again." Daniel Greengrass said as he stepped forward to shake Sirius' hand. "I was delighted when I heard you weren't actually a raving psychopath."

"Ha! In the eye's of the law I'm perfectly sane." Sirius answered with a grin. "It's a different story to those who know me, of course."

"Indeed." Daniel replied. "Harry, welcome to our home. We've heard a lot about you."

"Thank you, Mr Greengrass." Harry said uncertainly.

"Why don't we all sit down for a bit." Daniel suggested. "We can all get to know each other." Harry and Sirius nodded and they all took their places on the couch. Harry had Sirius on one side and Daphne on the other and felt somewhat comfortable in the situation. Astoria, meanwhile, was having a hard time suppressing her laughter.

"So, Harry, how has your summer been so far?" Daphne's mother asked, trying to start the conversation.

"Oh, well a lot better recently." Harry answered. "I moved in with Sirius. It's great." Penelope Greengrass smiled at his answer but did not ask anything else.

"Well Daniel, I suppose we both know why we're here." Sirius said suddenly, surprising Harry. "I am the boy's godfather and legal guardian after all, so we should be able to handle this quite easily."

"Sirius, what are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"Excellent!" Daniel replied. "I am sure we agree in principle to the major issues, now it's just the details to work out."

"Father, what's going on?" Daphne asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Nothing for you to worry about, dear." Daniel answered. "Mr Black and I were just going to hammer out the details on your marriage contract. We'll be done in time for lunch, I assure you."

"He's right." Sirius agreed. "We aren't going to request anything out of the ordinary after all. The Potters are an old and respected family, plus with your relationship with Harry your father and I thought you'd both be thrilled by the idea."

"Now wait a second!" Harry said loudly. "Daphne and I aren't going to... what I mean is not now obviously... not that we're planning anything! But we're just fifteen! Sirius, do something!" Sirius was able to keep a straight face for about five seconds before he finally burst into laughter which soon spread to the rest of the room, minus Harry and Daphne. Harry looked around in confusion for a moment before realizing the whole thing had been one big prank.

"The look on your faces was priceless!" Sirius laughed. "You did excellent in your part by the way, Daniel."

"I see you still like a good prank, eh Sirius?" Daniel said between chuckles. "Just like I remembered."

"How dare you!" Daphne yelled, although she knew she would have thought it was funny if it had happened to someone else. "That was not a nice prank."

"Oh dear, don't be angry." Penelope said. "You know as well as I do that our family hasn't used a marriage contract in over two hundred years. Why would we ever start that foolish tradition again now?" Daphne's jaw dropped open as she realized that her mother was right and she should have recognized the deception. Still angry regardless, she sat back on the couch and glared at her father and Sirius. Harry held her hand but said nothing, knowing that it would be stupid to get in the way of an angry Daphne.

"I'll get you back for that one Sirius." Harry promised.

"I know you'll try, pup." Sirius replied, still laughing.

"Lunch is ready." Penelope announced. "Let's move the party into the dining room, shall we?" Everyone stood and followed her through the house and into the dining room were an elaborate meal had been laid out. As they ate everyone seemed to grow much more comfortable around each other and soon Harry and Daphne had forgotten about the prank that had been played on them. Harry quickly found that he liked the Greengrass family. They talked and laughed and genuinely loved each other in a way that he had never seen the Dursley's act and Harry realized that it was the way a family should be. His fears about Daphne's parents disliking him were erased they continued to chat during the meal. The Greengrass's, meanwhile, weren't sure what to expect from their daughter's boyfriend. Although they did not trust anything that had been written about him in the press they still hoped that Daphne had chosen a young man worthy of her. Despite their high standards they were pleased with Harry's kindness and the obvious affection he showed towards Daphne. A smile and a nod between the parents let them each know that the other would not object to the relationship.

More than an hour had passed and lunch had long since given way to dessert but the conversation had not died down. Eventually Penelope asked Astoria to help her put everything away leaving only Harry, Daphne, Sirius, and Daniel in the room.

"Daniel, can we speak without worrying of being overheard in this room?" Sirius asked.

"Of course." Daniel assured him. "What's this about?"

"Harry already knows, and I'm sure he'd just tell Daphne if she weren't here for this so I'm just going to come out and say it." Sirius began. "Dumbledore wanted me to offer you membership in the Order of the Phoenix." Daniel sat back in his chair and sighed as if he had somehow expected this.

"Not surprising, I suppose." Daniel said finally. "Tell me Sirius, what do you think of the Order?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean." Sirius answered. "Everyone in the Order is dedicated to bringing about the destruction of Voldemort."

"It isn't your dedication I question, it's your methods." Daniel commented. "What real action has Dumbledore taken against the Dark Lord since his resurrection? Anything? No, I thought not. I have the same goals as you do Sirius, I just question if following Dumbledore's lead is the best way to accomplish them."

"Oh we have our own problems with Dumbledore, believe me." Harry said. "But still, I don't think he's evil."

"No, neither do I." Daniel replied. "But he doesn't have to be evil to be an arrogant fool whose days of leading the fight against dark wizards should have ended fifty years ago. Forgive me if this is a sensitive subject, but Daphne told me of the prophecy. And I already knew that the Dark Lord had made at least one Horcrux, possibly more. These are important revelations that should prompt action. Dumbledore is still a powerful wizard and if it is your destiny to oppose the Dark Lord then he should be training you in addition to helping you hunt down and destroy every last Horcrux. But what has he done instead? Locked you up with your muggle relatives until your godfather was forced to come rescue you." Harry found he really could not argue with Daniel's logic and nodded in agreement.

"Harry and I plan on destroying what remains of Voldemort's soul this summer. Soon he will be mortal again." Sirius vowed.

"Yes, and what does Dumbledore say of that?" Daniel asked.

"We didn't tell him what we were planning." Harry answered. "But he'd probably want us to leave it to him."

"I concur." Daniel said. "What would be expected of me if I did join the Order of the Phoenix?"

"I'm not quite sure." Sirius answered. "To be honest, we're not doing much right now. We'd need you to help gather information, and fight alongside us when there is need."

"I would be gathering information even if I did not join the Order." Daniel replied. "And is the information gathered by others shared freely? Or does Dumbledore hold it all for himself?"

"Somewhere in the middle, I suppose." Sirius said with a sigh. "Fine, you've convinced me that the Order isn't the most useful group around but what's the alternative? Join the Ministry? Even with Amelia Bones in charge they aren't capable of handling the problem."

"You're right of course." Daniel assured him. "And in another situation I would probably just stay out of the fight altogether. But things are different this time around, neutrality is not an option."

"Is that because of me and Daphne?" Harry asked.

"Partly, but not completely." Daniel answered. "Most of the blame falls on my brother. But besides that the world will suffer irreparable harm if the Dark Lord is not stopped. There must be a force to oppose him, but that force can not be led by Albus Dumbledore."

"Who should lead then? You, Daniel?" Sirius asked skeptically. "No offense but there aren't many people who would choose you over Dumbledore."

"This isn't about prestige or winning recruits!" Daniel insisted. "All we need is a small group of people willing to do what has to be done to end this war, even if that means violating Dumbledore's rules of engagement. I'm not asking you to quit or betray the Order, but you and I both know that the Order of the Phoenix won't stop the Dark Lord this time just like they didn't stop him last time."

"You're wrong." Harry said. "My mother stopped him, and she was in the Order."

"And she did it by using a ritual that demanded she sacrifice her life for you. Do you think Dumbledore ever would have approved that method if he had known?"

"No." Harry answered truthfully. "Probably not. So what now?"

"Now I reluctantly join the Order of the Phoenix." Daniel answered.

"What?" Daphne said, speaking up for the first time in the conversation. "After all that, you're going to join anyway?"

"Besides giving me access to information I might not otherwise have it will solidify my reputation as 'one of the good guys' in their opinion." Daniel explained. "There are people in the Order whose help I would gladly welcome, but in order to convince them of my point of view I must win their trust."

"You make it sound like you're infiltrating the Order." Harry said with a small frown.

"In a way I am, Harry." Daniel answered. "But I promise to be honest with you and Sirius. Hopefully our combined efforts will be enough to stop the Dark Lord." For a few minutes after that the table was silent as each person took the time to think about what they had discussed. Harry's instinct told him that Daniel's opinion on the war was correct, but the idea that such a small group of people could defeat Voldemort and his army still seemed crazy to him.

"Now, on to more serious matters." Daniel said finally. "Just what are your intentions towards my daughter, Mr Potter?"

Harry's head jerked up in surprise at the question but found Daniel and Sirius both smiling back at him trying not to laugh. Harry stammered, trying to think of what to say, but when everyone started laughing he realized they weren't actually expecting an answer. Relieved, he began laughing too. For the rest of the afternoon they did not discuss the war again, but even so it was on each of their minds.

* * *

A little while later Harry, Daphne, and Sirius arrived at the apparition point in Diagon Alley where they we supposed to meet Remus and Neville for their day out. As they looked around they saw that Neville was already there and looking through the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies where they were displaying the newest broom from the Nimbus company.

"Neville!" Harry yelled, trying to get the other boys attention. Neville's head shot up and he began looking around but it took him a few moments to find Harry and the others because of the crowds. Neville quickly walked over to the rest of the group.

"Hey guys." Neville said. "You're lucky I waited. I've been dying to get my wand ever since I got here."

"Sorry Neville." Harry replied. "We're just waiting for Moony now." Harry looked back towards the apparition point but didn't see Remus. He did, however, see a pair of Aurors patrolling in front of Gambol and Japes. Neither of their faces looked familiar, but Harry suspected he knew who the female Auror with purple hair was anyway. He wanted to go over and say hello, but they began quickly walking off in the other direction.

"How's your summer been?" Daphne asked.

"Good." Neville answered. "Mostly I've just been getting our greenhouse at home back in order. I don't think my Gran does anything with it while I'm away at Hogwarts and it is always in bad shape when I get there." Daphne nodded politely and then began looking around again. "There!" she said suddenly, pointing away from the apparition point towards another part of the alley. They all looked at where she was pointing and were surprised to see not just Remus but Molly, Fred & George, Ron, and Ginny with him. Remus pointed out Harry and his group to Molly and then made his way over while the Weasley's went inside Slug and Jiggers Apothecary.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone." Remus said as he approached. "When Molly heard I was coming to Diagon Alley she decided she needed to come pick up some supplies. Then the Weasley kids heard about the trip and began begging her to go well... it slowed me down a little."

"No worries, Moony." Sirius replied. "As long as they are ok with Molly I think Mr Longbottom here is eager to get his new wand. To Ollivander's then?"

"Yes!" Neville said excitedly. Harry and Daphne both smiled at their friend's eagerness but understood the reason behind it. Neither of them could imagine ever using a wand other than their own. As the group happily made their way to the wand shop they had no idea that they were being watched, but they were. They would not have recognized the person watching them even if they had known. He was a young Death Eater, one of the first of the new wave of recruits and only a few years out of Hogwarts. Perhaps surprisingly he had not been in Slytherin while there but in Hufflepuff. That fact certainly displeased his family and he was eager to impress them. Perhaps, he thought, this was his chance...

Inside Ollivander's Neville was walking around and inspecting the various wands and other items in the shop. The others, knowing this could be a long process, had decided to sit down while Neville looked for his wand.

"Ah, young Mr Longbottom I presume." said a voice from the shadows. An white haired old man slowly made his way past the huge stacks of wands and approached Neville. "I was expecting you some time ago. What have you been using until now, I wonder?"

"My father's wand, sir." Neville answered, holding out the wand.

"Ah yes, I remember that one well." Ollivander said. "Vine, twelve inches, dragon heartstring. A fine wand, but perhaps not well suited for you. Come lad, let us go meet your wand." Ollivander ushered Neville back to the stacks of wands and began giving him different ones to try out. Some worked better for him than others, but he had yet to find one that really appealed to him. After over thirty minutes of trying Ollivander handed Neville a wand that looked almost exactly like many of the others he had tried, but somehow he knew this one was different. The moment it touched his hand a comforting warmth seemed to spread up his arm and the wand began to vibrate as if begging to be used.

"Cherry, thirteen inches, unicorn hair." Ollivander announced with a knowing smile. "Go ahead, Mr Longbottom." Neville nodded but his gaze never left the wand he now held in his hand. He gave it a quick swish and a fountain of colorful sparks that crackled like fireworks erupted from the end of the wand. A large grin spread over Neville's face as he brought the wand closer to him so he could inspect it. "I do believe you have found your wand."

"Yeah, this is the one! I know it." Neville said happily. The sound of people applauding finally got him to look up and he saw his friends giving him a standing ovation. Neville blushed and gave a small bow before walking over to them.

"Congratulations Neville, I'm glad you finally got your own wand." Harry said. Daphne nodded in agreement and gave Neville a short hug to show she was happy for him too.

"Thanks. And the best part is I can actually use it this summer." Neville said happily.

"This calls for a bit of celebration." Sirius announced. "Come on, ice cream from Florean Fortesque's on me. Even you, Moony."

"You know I never turn down mint chocolate chip." Remus replied thoughtfully. "Fine, I'm in." Neville quickly paid for his wand and the group headed out of the old shop and back into Diagon Alley. The heavy crowds from earlier in the day had died down a bit, but the street was still full of people. Harry had expected there to be fewer people or perhaps a less festive atmosphere because of the on going war but everyone seemed to be doing their best to avoid thinking about that subject.

After ordering their ice cream the group went to sit on the patio in front of the shop to enjoy the warm day. Harry was enjoying the ability to walk around freely and be with friends after his confinement at the Dursley's. They had been eating and taking for a few minutes when Harry noticed the Weasley's walking towards them, evidently through with their shopping. That is when everything started to go wrong.

The first clue that something was amiss was the rapidly dropping temperature. Most of the people in Diagon Alley stopped walking and began to look around, unsure of what was going on. Harry and his friends knew better and immediately reached for their wands. Only Neville wasn't sure what was happening.

"What is it?" Neville asked as he too pulled out his wand.

"Dementors." Sirius answered with a growl. "Lots of them. Wait until you see them to cast your Patronus charms." Everyone else nodded at his advice.

"Keep your guard up." Remus said. "The Death Eaters use the Dementors as a distraction, and then attack behind them." The Weasley's came running up towards the other group with worry evident on their face. Of them, only Molly had her wand out and seemed to know what was happening.

"Is this what I think it is?" Molly asked nervously. Sirius and Remus nodded in confirmation of her fears and a determined look came over her face. "Kids, I want you to keep your heads down! Turn over that table and get behind it. Keep your shield charms up as strong as you can. MOVE!" None of her children had ever seen her act like this, and it was that fact more than anything that spurred them into action. In seconds all four Weasley children were crouched behind an overturned table watching to see what happened next.

"There!" Daphne yelled, turning her wand to point towards the apparition point they had come through earlier in the day. Over the buildings surrounding the entry way dozens of Dementors were gliding down towards the already frightened witches and wizards. The foul creatures caused a panic in the streets as everyone tried to run from them. No one appeared to be able to cast the Patronus charm, which left everything up to Harry and his group.

"Expecto Patronum!" they all yelled as Harry, Daphne, Sirius, Remus, and Molly cast the Patronus charm. Neville, who had been waiting to get his new wand to learn the charm, instead began casting cheering charms on the others in the hope that it would make their task easier. Sirius' Patronus was, unsurprisingly, a big dog like his animagus form but Remus' Patronus was not a version of his werewolf self but a fierce looking eagle that gracefully swooped towards the Dementors and drove them back.

"Try to surround them!" Harry commanded. "Prongs can hurt them but you have to keep them together!" The others changed their tactics and directed their Patronus' to force the Dementor's towards Harry's Patronus who was maiming and killing Dementors at a shocking speed. Every fifteen seconds or so another Dementor would fall to Harry's overcharged Patronus, but with dozens of Dementors around it didn't seem to be enough. Suddenly two new Patronus' showed up and began helping fight off the Dementors. Harry looked towards where they came from and smiled when he saw Tonks and her fellow Auror with their wands out directing their Patronuses. With their additional help Harry could sense the tide of the battle was turning.

It was then that several loud cracks were heard, a sound Harry knew meant people were apparating in. He desperately hoped they would be on his side, but expected otherwise. They were indeed Death Eaters, a fact confirmed by the long black robes and skull masks. Not all of them were wearing masks, however, and those willing to show their faces Harry recognized as people who were already known to be Death Eaters. There were ten of them altogether and the group included all three Lestranges, Barty Crouch Junior, five masked Death Eaters, and a feral looking man that Harry did not recognize. They began firing curses indiscriminately as soon as they arrived, clearly looking to cause as much panic as possible. The Dementors, however, took their arrival as a signal that their job was done and immediately began to leave the area and their fallen brothers behind.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled, "Do you have a way to contact the rest of the Order?" The Death Eaters apparently had not seen them yet and were still firing at random targets. It was only a matter of time before they started killing people and Harry was having a hard time restraining himself from running into the middle of the battle.

"No." Sirius answered sadly. "We're on our own." Sirius growled as he saw the first Unforgivable of the day cast by one of the masked Death Eaters no more than fifteen feet away from them. It was a Cruciatus curse used on an elderly witch who was now screaming in pain. Sirius could stand no more and in an instant had transformed into his Animagus form and was running towards the unaware Death Eater. Without warning the huge black dog leapt on the man, knocking him down and ending the curse. Padfoot closed his powerful jaws on the man's hand and in the process broke his wand along with several bones. Having defeated his opponent, Sirius transformed out of his Animagus shape and prepared to face a new threat. The screaming Death Eater did not attempt to rejoin the fight, but instead used a portkey to escape. Remus ran to assist his friend, knowing that his attack would not go unnoticed.

"Stay here with the Weasley's!" Harry shouted to Daphne. "I'm going to help them!" Daphne nodded and began looking for a defensible position to fire from near the Weasley's. Neville followed her lead and soon they were both crouched behind a low brick wall that surrounded the patio of the ice cream shop. After a few moments they fell into a pattern where one of them would concentrate on shielding them while the other fired curses at the Death Eaters. It was a wise tactic and before the battle was over they would catch more than one of their enemies unprepared for it.

"Cousin Sirius! So nice to see you again!" a crazed looking Death Eater with long black hair said happily. Harry knew from pictures that she was Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the people responsible for sending Neville's parents to St Mungo's among other heinous crimes. Her greeting came along with a bone shattering curse which Sirius was able to shield against.

"Hello Bella, it looks as though Azkaban was worse for you than me." Sirius answered as he sent a blasting curse back her. She gracefully danced out of its way and began laughing maniacally again before sending a huge ball of fire at Sirius, which luckily for him was stopped with a flame freezing charm from Remus. "Thanks Moony! I knew you'd have my back."

"As always, Padfoot." Remus answered with a grin. Harry was only seconds behind him and soon the three were standing back to back to back, making sure that all angles were covered. Six of the remaining nine Death Eaters had decided that they posed the greatest threat and were focusing on them, while the other three were battling Tonks and the other Auror. Being outnumbered six to three placed them heavily on the defensive, but they were still able to hold their ground. Harry had quickly come to the conclusion that the best use of his opportunities to strike back would be to transfigure and animate different object and command them to attack the Death Eaters. This way they would be able to fight and distract the Death Eaters while he still had his shield up. A bench that had been transfigured into a tiger was able to pounce on Rodolphus Lestrange before his brother Rabastan was able to use a severing charm to slice of its head. In doing so, however, Rabastan lowered his guard and was hit in the leg with a powerful curse from Daphne which snapped his femur in two. He howled in pain but was not willing to let that take him out of the battle.

"Gotcha!" Remus yelled as one of his Reducto curses blasted a masked Death Eater into a brick wall. The man moaned in pain as his body hit the hard surface and evidently decided he had had enough of the battle because he too used a portkey to escape.

"Good one, Moony!" Sirius commented between curses. "Just like old days, isn't it?"

"Confringo!" Remus said. "Almost Padfoot, but Harry isn't Prongs."

"Of course not - Expulso!" Sirius replied. "But remember Hogsmeade, March 1980!"

"Ha! Reducto! I remember, the three of us huddled up just like we are now. We were lucky to survive that one."

"Not lucky, just good!" Sirius laughed. Harry had to shake his head in amazement. In the middle of the battle they were still able to stay calm enough to joke with each other. "Levicorpus!" Sirius' spell hit Bellatrix and she was lifted off the ground and suspended in the air upside down. Sirius sent another curse at her but she was able to dispell the effects and as she painfully crashed to the ground Sirius' follow up spell flew harmlessly over her head.

"Help!" a familiar voice called from the other side of the street. Harry glanced over and saw that Tonks' partner had been knocked out of the fight and she was now facing three Death Eaters by herself. A stunning spell from Neville and Daphne's direction hit a masked Death Eater in the back and knocked him to the ground, unconscious.

"Greyback!" Remus growled as he looked towards the Death Eaters attacking Tonks. Harry remembered the story Sirius had told him of how Remus was turned into a werewolf and guessed that the feral looking Death Eater was in fact Fenrir Greyback. Remus sent one last spell towards Rodolphus Lestrange and then ran to help Tonks. Before he could get there Greyback had disarmed her and was rushing towards her with his mouth wide open as if he were going to try and bite her. He and Remus collided just before Greyback reached Tonks and the two werewolves crashed down to the ground, but they were throwing punches and kicks before they even came to a stop.

Harry and Sirius now had to contend with all three Lestranges but the other two masked Death Eaters had abandoned that fight and were concentrating on Daphne, Neville, and the Weasley's who until then had been able to attack from their covered position without being challenged. They were good enough to keep Neville and Daphne from firing at their fellow Death Eaters, but were also outnumbered as Molly and the twins began to fire spells back at them as well. Ron and Ginny had so far not taken any action except to hide behind the table, but after seeing the others fight Ron was beginning to feel useless and crawled over to where Neville and Daphne were. Neither of them paid Ron much attention and continued to fight against the masked Death Eaters, who were slowly becoming more desperate in their attacks. Suddenly Ron jumped up from behind the wall and shouted "Stupefy!" His poorly aimed stunner missed his target, but his action had left him exposed and one of the Death Eaters pointed his wand towards him and yelled "Avada Kedavra!" The ugly green light of the killing curse sped through the air as Molly screamed in horror. Ron was frozen in shock and fear from the bright light that represented his impending doom.

"Accio chair!" Daphne called, summoning a piece of furniture towards her and into the path of the killing curse. When the spell hit the chair it exploded into a shower of splinters, otherwise ending harmlessly. Ron fell to the ground immediately, shaking with the awareness that he had almost died. He stayed that way while the others continued the fight.

Meanwhile, Barty Crouch Junior had Enneverated the stunned Death Eater which once again put Remus and Tonks at a numerical disadvantage. Remus and Greyback had ended their physical fight at a draw and had transitioned into a magical duel. Here Remus had the advantage but he also had to contend with an extra Death Eater. Tonks had managed to get back to her wand and had her hands full with Crouch and the random spells fired by the masked Death Eater. Remus knew if they didn't do something to change the odds soon they would be in trouble.

"Yes!" Harry yelled in triumph as his piercing curse made its way past Rabastan Lestrange's defenses and struck him in the stomach. The man, who already had a broken leg, grunted apologetically to his brother Rodolphus before portkeying away from the battle. Sirius and Harry were now free to challenge their attackers one on one, Harry versus Rodolphus and Sirius versus Bellatrix. The husband and wife pair were two of Voldemort's most skilled duelers, a fact that had become clear to Harry as the battle progressed. Rodolphus was much better than Crouch, and Harry was having a difficult time landing a decent blow against him. Sirius was not fairing much better against Bellatrix who he had been dueling almost without interruption since the battle began. Her frequent use of the Cruciatus curse had forced him to produce numerous physical barriers to stop it from hitting him or those standing beside him, but it had also made the fight much more difficult.

A loud scream was heard as Tonks was hit with a spell that sent her spinning to the ground with a broken arm. Unfortunately the injured arm had also been the one she held her wand in. She began using her other arm to cast, but it was not nearly as effective. The others, sensing Tonks' weakness, simultaneously sent curses towards her hoping to put her out of the fight for good. Remus jumped in front of her and brought up the strongest shield he could, but it was only able to stop two of the spells. The third hit him in the chest and forced him to his knees. Remus knew from the pain that the spell had broken several of his ribs, but he could not let that stop him. Gathering his strength, Remus fired a blasting curse at the masked Death Eater that knocked him flat on his back and out cold. At the same time, however, Crouch had banished a brick from a broken wall into Tonks' stomach which sent her flying to the ground in pain.

"It doesn't have to be like this, werewolf." Greyback said as he advanced towards Remus. "Join us. When the Dark Lord rules our kind will not be treated as animals or some inferior creature."

"Never!" Remus replied. He then sent a jet of flame towards Greyback, but the older werewolf was able to dive out of its way. Greyback came back up snarling at his attacker and firing a variety of deadly curses. They came at such a high speed Remus was forced to divert all of his attention to Greyback. While that happened, Crouch took the chance to move into a position where he could attack Remus from behind.

Harry was barely aware of anything else going on because of his fight with Rodolphus Lestrange. He had eventually come to realize that while Rodolphus was excellent at dodging and shielding against curses he was also easily distracted which meant Harry could take the advantage with some well timed transfiguration and animation. As he transfigured a pile of rubble into two wolves he saw the uncertainty in Rodolphus' eyes and new he now had the advantage.

Crouch, finally in position, carefully took aim at Remus' back. So far no one had noticed what he was doing, but he knew that could change at any moment. When he saw Remus raise a shield in front of himself to block an incoming attack from Greyback Crouch realized this was his chance and struck. "Inficio!" he yelled as his signature acid spell erupted from his wand and hit the unsuspecting Remus in the back. The surprise attack caused Remus' shield to fail and allowed Greyback's spell to hit him in the chest with full force.

Harry had just managed to bring part of a brick wall down on Rodolphus while his wolves had the man distracted when out of the corner of his eye he saw Remus get hit. Greyback's spell was a strong cutting curse and Harry watched in horror as it tore open the flesh on Remus' chest from his right shoulder to his left hip. He saw, as if in slow motion, blood splatter as the magic ripped into Remus. Remus immediately slumped to his knees and fired off a poorly aimed curse at Greyback which flew harmlessly past him. Remus tried to cast again but his hand was shaking unsteadily due to the pain and blood loss.

"No! Moony!" Harry yelled as he raced towards Remus. As he approached Remus fell on his side to the ground, still alive but in very bad shape.

"Uh oh." Greyback said sarcastically. "Did I kill your puppy?" Harry did say anything in response, but inside him a rage like he had never felt before was taking hold of him. His only coherent thought was to make Greyback pay for what he had done. With a flick of his wand Harry silently conjured a dozen small, silver pellets which began to circle around him as if they were planets in orbit. Greyback laughed at Harry, not believing a teenager could be a threat to him, and sent another cutting curse his way. Harry waved his wand again and an bright yellow shield surrounded him on all sides, very different from a Protego shield which only protected from one direction. Greyback's curse hit this shield and seemed to be absorbed by it. Later, Harry would not remember what spell he had cast. He would only know that he seemed to be commanding the magic to obey his will, and the magic had done so. With another flick of his wrist Harry summoned Greyback's wand to him. It was only then that Greyback realized his mistake. He reached into his pocket for his portkey but could not find it. Evidently it had fallen out at some point during the battle.

"Fine, put me in Azkaban." Greyback snarled. "When I get out, the first thing I'll do is kill you." Harry waved his wand again and Greyback was lifted off the ground with his arms and legs magically held in place. "What do you think you're doing? You won't kill me, golden boy. You don't have it in you!"

"Are you sure about that?" Harry asked. Suddenly one of his silver pellets flew like a bullet and smashed Greyback's knee. He howled in pain as the silver seemed to make his his flesh burn. Then another piece of silver flew at Greyback, hitting him in the shoulder. After this the scene turned into pure chaos. The silver pellets all left Harry and sped towards Greyback. Each one would pierce his body at high speeds and then stop to change course and attack the man again. In mere seconds Greyback's body was covered in holes and his screams of agony had stopped altogether. For a moment his lifeless body hung suspended in the air because of Harry's magic, and all who saw it gasped in shock at the ruined form. Then the spell holding him ended and Greyback's corpse dropped to the ground like a ragdoll. Harry stared at it for a second, not really feeling anything, before remembering he also had to deal with Barty Crouch Junior.

Harry turned to face the man whose eyes were still bulging open in surprise from what he had seen. Harry sent a powerful bone breaking curse at him but Crouch was able to dive to the ground and out of the way. Before Harry could send another curse at him Crouch had activated his portkey and escaped.

"Coward!" Harry screamed at the spot where Crouch stood only moments before. He then turned to see how the rest of the battle was going.

"Death Eaters, retreat!" Bellatrix yelled, having seen that they were now outnumbered. She and the others all portkeyed away, even including Rodolphus who had managed to free himself from the rubble that Harry had brought down on him. In the end all of the Death Eaters had managed to escape except for Greyback.

"Moony!" Sirius yelled as he ran over to check on his friend. Harry too rushed over to check on him. When they got there Tonks was crouched next to him sobbing, and it did not take long for Harry to see why. Remus was covered in blood, all of it his own, and Harry knew that there was probably extensive internal damage as well.

"Someone help us!" Harry screamed at the crowds. "We need a healer! Please!" But for a while, no one moved. Finally Molly nodded and ran off to find someone. It was only then that Harry knelt down beside his injured friend.

"You're ok, Moony." Sirius assured him. "We're going to get a Healer, and you'll be fine."

"You're a terrible liar, Padfoot." Remus gasped. He winced, as if the effort to speak had taken a lot out of him.

"I'm sorry , Moony." Harry said as tears began to fall from his eyes. "I should have gotten there faster."

"Not your fault." Remus assured him in a voice that was beginning to get quieter. "Sirius, brother..." Sirius grabbed Remus' hand and held it in his.

"Brother." Sirius replied in agreement.

"Take care of each other." Remus said. "And if anyone asks, tell them my last words were 'Mischief Managed'." Sirius laughed despite at Remus' joke despite the circumstances, and a weak smile formed on Remus' face.

"Damn it, Moony. You aren't supposed to be making me laugh at a time like this." Sirus said. He waited for Remus to say something else, but he didn't. "Moony? Moony? Oh no... oh god no..." In the end there was no last gasp of breath or a sudden lurch, Remus had simply smiled and closed his eyes as the life left his body. As Harry and Sirius cried over their fallen friend Neville, Daphne, and the Weasley's came and formed a circle around them to keep others from seeing their private moment. They too wept at the sight of their former professor.

"It's my fault, Sirius!" Tonks said. "He was your friend, and he died saving me."

"No!" Sirius yelled. "Moony would never forgive me if I let you think that! It's the Death Eaters fault, no one else's." Tonks nodded at his words, but Harry wasn't sure she believed them.

In the background Harry heard yelling and orders being given as the main force of Aurors finally arrived, but it was quickly apparent to them that they were too late. They would be there another hour giving statements and making sure that Remus' body was treated with respect, but all of them wanted nothing more than to leave this place of pain and death. The Order of the Phoenix had suffered its first loss of the new war, but it would not be the last. For now they mourned, but each of them eagerly awaited the day when they avenge Remus Lupin.

* * *

Author's Note:

Don't hate me for killing off Remus, I didn't want to do it. But after saving Cedric and pardoning Sirius something tragic was just begging to happen. I never liked the way Remus and Tonks died in cannon, personally I like this a little more. Well, as always, tell me what you think and thanks for reading!


	30. Chapter 30

The next morning Harry awoke in a cold sweat. He had been having a nightmare, but not one of the kind which caused his scar to hurt. He had stopped having those when the Horcrux inside his head was destroyed. This was a normal nightmare, but that fact did not make it any more pleasant. In his mind he had replayed the events of the previous day a hundred times and each time he came to the sad realization that there was very little he could have done to save Moony. Perhaps if he had been better with his healing charms... but no, not even Hermione (who was the best of his group) could have done anything to heal Moony. He didn't blame Tonks either, and hoped she would not blame herself. She had been caught in a three against one fight against a team of Death Eaters, it would be foolish to expect almost anybody to come out on top in a fight like that.

As Harry pulled himself out of bed a sudden thought struck him: he had killed a man the day before. And unlike the incident with Professor Quirrel, Greyback's death couldn't be blamed on Voldemort. Harry did it on his by himself of his own free will. Harry paused to consider this new development. He didn't feel bad about what he had done nor did he feel any regret, and it was that feeling that disturbed him more than anything else. He had been told to expect subtle changes in his personality, was this evidence of that? Reluctantly he decided it probably was. His opinions on killing in battle had changed in the past few weeks. Trying to end the war with the least amount of casualties, whether enemy or ally, was a noble but unrealistic goal. People on both sides would continue to die, and his only real concern should be to make sure most of those were Death Eaters.

Harry walked down to the kitchen hoping to find breakfast waiting for him but saw instead that the Weasley's weren't in the house. Sirius, however, was sitting at the table with a cup of tea in one hand and the Daily Prophet in the other. From the expression on his face Harry knew he didn't like what he saw there.

"Morning, Harry." Sirius said, looking up from his paper. "Sleep ok?"

"Good enough." Harry answered as he sat down at the table. "So what's in the paper that's got you so angry?"

"Look for yourself." Sirius said, sliding the paper over to his godson. Harry picked it up and saw that the headline read "Harry Potter Brutally Kills Werewolf in Diagon Alley!" Below it was a picture of him apparently taken during the battle. Even Harry had to admit that the picture made him look fairly intimidating, something he didn't think he was capable of. The story itself was, of course, written by Rita Skeeter.

"Damn it." Harry swore when he began reading the article. Rita was really trying to make him look dangerous, completely ignoring the fact that they had been ambushed by a group of Death Eaters. "I think Rita Skeeter just outlived her usefulness."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked curiously.

"It's time she stopped writing this trash." Harry replied. "And the Greengrasses and I have a way to do that."

"Good. Don't let her off easy, either." Sirius said. He paused for a moment and Harry could tell he was thinking about what he was going to say next. Harry thought he was going to ask how he was feeling after what had happened, but he apparently decided against whatever he had been thinking of and said "So the Order is having an emergency meeting tonight to discuss yesterday's attack."

"What is their response going to be?" Harry asked, wondering how the Order would handle the situation.

"Response? There won't be one." Sirius snorted. "Dumbledore will say a few nice things about Moony, warn everyone to be careful, and then go on as if nothing had happened."

"But that's ridiculous!" Harry said. "We ought to be doing something to weaken Voldemort and stop this from happening again."

"Like what? We don't know where the Death Eaters are hiding, and even if we did Dumbledore would oppose an attack."

"Fine, but what about the Dementors?" Harry asked. "They were there yesterday, which pretty much confirms that they've sided with Voldemort again. Maybe we don't know where the Death Eaters are, but we do know where the Dementors are. They'll probably leave Azkaban soon if they follow the same pattern as the last war, now is the time to strike. Who else can cast a Patronus powerful enough to kill one?"

"Moody can. Shacklebolt, too. I assume Dumbledore can. Other than you, that's it. I don't think I'll ever be able to, a side effect of all those years in Azkaban I suppose." Sirius answered. "But an assault on the Dementors at Azkaban? I don't know if it could work, Harry."

"Of course it can." Harry assured him. "It wouldn't even take that many of us. How many Dementors are at Azkaban?"

"Nobody is really sure. But if I had to guess I'd put it at somewhere between one hundred and one fifty, and that was back when I was still a prisoner. You've killed about ten already."

"Exactly. They aren't that tough once you figure out how to fight them." Harry replied excitedly as a plan began to form in his head. "We wouldn't even need that many people. Maybe a dozen Order members surrounding Azkaban making sure the Dementors can't escape, then the three or four of us who can kill them directing our Patronuses inside the prison. It could work, Sirius, and if it does it would take a powerful ally away from Voldemort."

"Maybe so..." Sirius answered thoughtfully. He had heard worse plans, after all. "The Ministry would be pissed at us and Dumbledore would never go for it, but it might work. I'll start asking around, quietly of course, but if Moody and Shacklebolt say no we'll have to call it off."

"Fair enough." Harry replied. "But remember, I want to be a part of this. I was the one who figured out how to kill them, I deserve that. And if we're in need of people who can cast a Patronus, Daphne and Hermione both can. I'll start working with Neville and I bet you he'll have it down in a week or less."

"I'll admit they did a good job yesterday, but do you really want to purposefully put them on the battlefield?"

"They deserve to choose for themselves whether to fight or not." Harry responded. Sirius shrugged as if he wasn't convinced but didn't say anything else about it. "I've got something else we could do today, if you aren't going to be too busy."

"I'm sure I could find a few free hours, what did you have in mind?"

"Let's go destroy another Horcrux." Harry answered. "Voldemort hid a ring in the house his family used to live in. The protections around it won't be too bad since I can speak parseltongue, but there's a pretty nasty curse on the ring itself. We should be fine as long as we don't touch it."

"Sounds like a good way to spend the morning." Sirius agreed. "That will leave three Horcruxes and Voldemort himself. Perhaps the end of this war is finally in sight."

"Sirius, the war just started." Harry reminded him.

"For you maybe, but for me the first war never really ended. I've fought and struggled for the last two decades, and I'm tired of it Harry. I've seen too many good men die, your father and Moony most of all." Sirius explained. "I'm glad you're here, pup. This would be a lot harder if you weren't."

"There's nowhere I'd rather be." Harry answered truthfully.

"Go get ready, we'll leave in an hour." Sirius replied, getting up to prepare himself as well. As Harry watched his godfather leave the room he wondered how he was really coping with Remus' death. They had been friends since they were first years at Hogwarts and Harry could only guess at how he would react if a friend like Hermione had died. Sirius didn't strike him as the type of person who would want to talk about his feelings either, but Harry knew he would need to be there for his godfather if he did.

* * *

An hour later Sirius made his way downstairs finally ready to leave. Not knowing how dangerous their mission would be, Sirius decided to assume the worst and was fully prepared for a fight. His normal clothes had been replaced with Auror issue battle gear which included a heavy cloak with numerous charms on it which was supposed to be able to stop or weaken some spells. In truth it wasn't quite as effective as advertised, but it was better than nothing. The cloak appeared heavy and cumbersome, but was actually quite light and easy to move in.

"You should know, you look ridiculous in that." Harry commented as he tried not to laugh.

"Laugh it up, kiddo. I'm having one of these made for you, too. I'd give you mine if it could fit, but I think you're still a year or two away from being my size." Sirius replied with a smile. "I've got to make sure you're staying safe."

"We really shouldn't face any trouble. I know what is protecting the ring and how to get past it." Harry said.

"It's better to be safe. We have the advantage of Voldemort not knowing what we're doing, but there is no telling how long that will last. And if he did find out he would stop at nothing to prevent us from completing out task." Sirius commented. Harry nodded, knowing it was the truth.

"If you're ready, I can apparate us there." Harry said. Sirius walk towards him and put his hand on Harry's shoulder, waiting for him to begin the apparition process. A moment later Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on his destination and instantly they both felt as if they had been forced through a narrow tube. Thankfully, the journey did not last long and soon they found themselves standing somewhere completely different.

Sirius looked around and saw that he was standing on a hill overlooking a small village. A cluster of houses and tiny shops lay off to the east, and he could see a few people walking through the streets. The residents were dressed as muggles, leading Sirius to doubt that there was much of a wizard population in the area. North of town a large, but evidently abandoned, old house stood apart from the rest of the villiage.

"What is this place, Harry?" Sirius asked as he continued to survey his surroundings.

"This is the village of Little Hangleton, the home of Voldemort's parents." Harry said. "That graveyard near the big house is where Voldemort was resurrected. His father was buried there."

"What exactly do you know about this town?" Sirius wondered.

"Just things related to the Horcrux." Harry answered. "I know that large house I just pointed out belonged to the Riddle family, and that's where Voldemort murdered them. He used their deaths to split his soul and create the Horcrux we're looking for. They were muggles and he hated them all. The ring itself he stole from his uncle Morfin who lived in the shack where it's now hidden. He also framed his uncle for the deaths of the Riddle family."

"I'm actually a little surprised he didn't kill his uncle too." Sirius said.

"No, he just let Azkaban take care of that." Harry replied with a frown. "He hated the Gaunts, too, but for different reasons. The fact that they were wizards didn't change that." Harry paused for a moment to see if he could remember anything else, but that was as far as the knowledge he had been given went. "Come on, the house is about a mile west of here." Sirius nodded and they began walking to the west. Sirius didn't see a house at first, but Harry seemed to know where he was going so he just followed his lead. The village was surrounded by farm and ranch land and looked quite peaceful from the path they were walking on. It seemed strange to him that the worst dark lord in a millenium had his origins here or that one of the most vile pieces of dark magic imaginable was hidden there. Eventually he saw a small house set at the edge of a dense forest. There did not appear to be anything noteworthy about it, but he knew looks could be deceiving.

"Stop." Harry commanded as they approached it. He took out his wand and Bubblehead charms on both himself and Sirius. "The air inside the house is tainted with one piece of a complex poison." Harry explained. "By itself it does nothing, but when combined with the other part that looks like a layer of dust it can be deadly."

"Do you have to breathe in the dust?"

"No, if you touch it the powder can go straight through your skin and into your bloodstream." Harry said. "We'll get rid of it once we're inside, I just wanted to be careful." Harry walked towards the door to the house but did not attempt to open it. He instead tapped his wand against the door and waited. For a moment nothing happened, but then a large snake head seemed to emerge from the door itself and began to hiss angrily at him.

"_I am the rightful heir of Salazar Slytherin_." Harry said in parseltongue. "_I demand you grant me entrance to recover that which I have hidden_." The magical snake looked at him carefully for a moment, but then nodded and became part of the door again. A loud click was heard and the door slowly swung open on its own. "We're in!"

"Well done." Sirius commented. "What would have happened if you tried to open the door without talking to the snake first?"

"Electrocution, to start with." Harry said. "Then, if you were still alive, your body would be covered by flames which are nearly impossible to put out."

"What a nice place." Sirius said. "Shall we go in?"

"Sure." Harry answered, turning back to the house. He walked in and immediately began casting "Tergeo" which allowed him to quickly remove all of the poisonous powder from the room. After a few minutes of cleaning Harry stopped and looked around to make sure he had gotten everything. Confident he had, he cancelled the Bubblehead charm and waved Sirius inside. "Come on, it's safe."

Sirius cancelled his charm and walked inside. The room he entered in was a wreck, with furniture in pieces and scattered everywhere. Broken dishes littered the floor as well. While he was looking around Harry had taken a small box out of his pocket and set it on the floor. He opened it, revealing the basilisk fang he had taken from the Chamber of Secrets, but did not yet remove it. Instead he began pulling on a wooden plank on the floor that reluctantly gave way and showed a small space that had been concealed under it. A small, golden box was laying in the hole and Harry lifted it up and placed it next to the other box.

"What do you have to do to open the box? Something crazy, I'd imagine." Sirius asked.

"Just open it." Harry laughed. "The real danger is inside." Harry opened the box, revealing a golden ring with a large stone set in the face. The stone had an odd symbol on the front but was otherwise fairly plain.

"Give me the ring, Harry." Sirius said with a slightly dazed look on his face. "I need to put it on."

"No!" Harry yelled at him. "There's a compulsion charm on the ring, Sirius. That's what is making you feel that way. I should have warned you before I opened the box, I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize." Sirius replied, his reason finally having returned. "I really should have known better."

"It's ok." Harry said. He then turned his attention back towards the ring, which still had given no indication it was cursed in any way. Harry knew that was part of the trap though and did not drop his guard at all He picked up the basilisk fangand used it to lift the ring out of the box and place it on the floor. Already the spots where the poison had made contact with the ring were sizzling as if they had been exposed to a very hot flame. "Here goes nothing..." Harry said as he lifted the fang into the air above the ring and then brought it down with all his strength. The force of the blow, combined with the power of the basilisk venom, was enough to break the ring into two pieces and knock the stone free. The ring itself was slowly consumed by the venom and melted away until nothing remained. The stone, however, appeared to be untouched.

"Is that it, or do you have to destroy the stone too?" Sirius asked.

"The Horcrux is dead, but I expected the stone to break or something. I wonder why it didn't." Harry said thoughtfully. He cast the few diagnostic charms he knew on the stone until he was confident that there was not a curse on it before picking it up to look at it closer.

"I guess that means it's safe." Sirius said, surprised that Harry had picked it up.

"It should be." Harry answered. "There's something weird about this rock... I think I'll take it with me."

"Fine by me, but let's get out of here." Sirius replied. "This place just bothers me."

"We'll have to walk back to where we apparated in, Voldemort had alarms that would tell him if anyone apparated closer. Those charms have actually probably worn off by now, but there's no reason to risk it." Harry said. Sirius nodded and together they walked out of the house, leaving it looking almost exactly the same as it had from the outside. Their success so far had encouraged their hopes that they could destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes before he even noticed. The others would be more difficult, but they were dedicated.

* * *

Later that day Harry sat in the living room near the front entrance of 12 Grimmauld Place watching as Order members began to arrive, most through the front door but others throught the floo connection that was also in the room. He knew he would not be allowed to listen in on the discussion as it happened, but he would learn the important details later on anyway. Some of the people he knew, such as Arthur and Molly Weasley and Professor McGonagall, had stopped to ask him how he was doing and to tell him they were sorry about Remus' death. He had told them he was doing fine and thanked them for their concern in response. It felt odd for him to be the center of attention for this, but he knew he would just have to deal with it.

Harry was quite surprised when he saw Cedric Diggory and his father, Amos, arrive via the floo. Harry rose out of his seat to greet former champions. "Cedric, what are you doing here?"

"Hey Harry." Cedric answered as Amos wondered into the other room where everyone else was waiting. "Dad and I joined the Order, are you in it too?"

"Nope." Harry said. "They think I'm still too young."

"That's bollocks. You weren't too young to win the Triwizard Tournament, were you?" Cedric replied. "This is the first meeting I've come to, I wonder what they're like."

"Not too exciting, apparently." Harry answered. "So what are you doing now that you graduated? Playing Quidditch? A lot of people said you were good enough."

"Nice of them, but I'd never get past the practice squads on a pro team." Cedric said with a laugh. "I got on with the Nimbus company in their broom design department. They're even going to pay for me to get my charms mastery."

"Wow, that sounds like a great job." Harry replied excitedly. "I never even thought about doing something like that."

"You're only a fifth year now, Harry. You can put off worrying about that for at least another year or so." Cedric said. Harry nodded in agreement, but he was just thinking about how hard it was probably going to be for him to make it to Hogwart's graduation, let alone something beyond that. "I guess I better get in there. Talk to you later, ok?"

"Yeah, later." Harry answered as Cedric joined the other Order members who were about to start the meeting. He knew he wouldn't gain anything by hanging around so decided to continue cleaning the basement. The sooner he got that finished the sooner he could resume his training. He left the Order to go about its business, knowing they probably would not accomplish much.

* * *

"This meeting is called to order." Dumbledore announced a short while later. "It is a great pleasure to introduce Amos and Cedric Diggory, our two newest members of the Order of the Phoenix." There was a smattering of appluase as both Diggory's stood and waved hello. "Sadly, I must also announce the death of Remus Lupin. He was a brave and loyal man, and it was my great honor to have known him."

"Hear, hear." Sirius said sadly. The others around the table nodded in agreement.

"Sirius, how did Daniel Greengrass respond to our invitation?" Dumbledore asked.

"Positively." Sirius answered. "He seems willing to ally himself with us."

"Excellent." Dumbledore replied, a small amount of surprise evident in his voice. "I know this will be difficult, but could you please explain what happened yesterday?" Sirius shrugged and began to tell them all that had happened the previous day, beginning with their arrival at Diagon Alley all the way until after the fight when the Aurors had finally arrived. The others listened quietly for the most part, but with obvious interest when he described the fight with the Death Eaters.

"Nymphadora, I assume your account matches his?" Dumbledore asked.

"It's Tonks. And yeah, he got it all right." Tonks answered, a bit sadly.

"What'll this mean for the werewolves?" Elphias Doge asked. Several discussions on the topic started up all at once, but were silenced with a wave from Dumbledore.

"It is likely that without Greyback the werewolves will fight amongst themselves in an effort to determine a new leader of the pack." Dumbledore explained. "However there was no clear second in command, so this process could be long and bloody. It is unlikely they will be of much use for Voldemort for some time."

"We should have killed Greyback a long time ago." Moody said gruffly. Dumbledore looked at his old friend as if he was disappointed in what he had said, but otherwise did nothing.

"I must confess I am concerned about Harry's state of mind." Dumbledore said, looking at Sirius. "No matter what the circumstances, he has just taken a life-"

"Two lives, actually." Snape said, interrupting him. Dumbledore looked at him with a confused look on his face and then motioned for his spy to continue. "Rabastan Lestrange has died from injuries suffered during the battle."

"But he was alive when they left." Sirius replied. "Surely he could have been healed."

"Bones broken, blood lost, organs damaged... all these things can be repaired if properly attended to." Snape explained. "Rabastan, however, was a fool. He mended his own bones and refused to allow a healer to inspect him. When Bellatrix awoke this morning she found him dead as a result of injuries he had failed to heal."

"Good riddance!" Moody proclaimed. "Guess I won't have to throw him back into Azkaban after all."

"Bellatrix was enraged." Snape said, continuing. "She swore vengence on both Potter and you, Black."

"Why? She hated Rabastan." Sirius said with a laugh.

"Perhaps. Bella is responding like a child who has had a toy taken from her. That she did not like the toy is of no consequence." Snape replied.

"Bellatrix Lestrange is a dangerous enemy to have, Sirius." Dumbledore reminded him. "I would hope you and Harry take this threat seriously."

"Of course." Sirius answered.

"Emotionally, how is Harry?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Pissed at you, old man." Sirius replied. "And so am I, now that I mention it. He's also sad about Remus and probably worried about me. But if you're asking if he is depressed and upset about killing Greyback the answer is: absolutely not. In fact I think he is more disappointed that he couldn't kill Crouch, too."

"This is not an issue to joke about, Sirius." Dumbledore scolded him. "I am only worried about his mental well being. We do not expect children to be soldiers."

"Excuse me." Cedric interrupted, clearly nervous about speaking up. "But I don't think you guys should be treating Harry like a little kid. He's a good wizard and much more mature than most of the guys that were in my year. He won the tournament this year on his own merits."

"I appreciate your point of view, Mr Diggory, but Harry still has a lot of growing to do." Dumbledore answered, giving it his best 'wise old man' look. Cedric shrugged and sat back quietly. "Perhaps I could talk to him afterwards..."

"No, Albus, I don't think that's a good idea." Sirius replied. "I'm his godfather, and if he needs someone to talk to it will be me." Dumbledore, knowing Sirius would not budge on this issue, reluctantly let it go. "I have another question, how are we going to respond to what happened? One of our best men, and one of my best friends, is dead."

"Yes, and two of their men are dead." Dumbledore pointed out. "The question is how will they respond? We must be ready to deal with whatever it is. Severus, any insight you have would be greatly appreciated."

"I have not spoken with the Dark Lord since the attack." Snape replied. "However, I can not imagine he would be happy with the outcome. Someone will feel his wrath because of this."

Sirius sighed, realizing that he was correct when he guessed that Dumbledore would do nothing in response. He considered raising Harry's idea of attacking the Dementors but decided not to, knowing that Dumbledore would never approve. It would be better to approach the others individually. Moody would probably agree to it and he felt pretty confident he could convince Tonks too as well. The others he asked would have to be chosen carefully. Clearly, the plan needed quite a bit of work before they could even consider trying it.

The rest of the meeting progressed as expected. No one seemed to know what the Death Eaters or Voldemort were doing or when their next attack would take place. Just like last time, people were beginning to disappear. Some had probably gone in to hiding, but how many others had been kidnapped and murdered by Voldemort? No one knew and it would be almost impossible to find out. Sirius yearned to do something to avenge his friend and the significant step they had taken by destroying one of Voldemort's Horcruxes earlier in the day did little to dampen that urge. He woud just have to be content with the fact that they were doing something, with or without Dumbledore's approval.

* * *

Author's Note:

A few of you have complained about how resilient the wizards seem to be. My point of view is that it has already been established that these characters live in a world where all of the bones in a person's arm can be vanished and then regrown in a night. Therefore it seems reasonable to assume that almost any damage that is purely physical in nature can be healed without any problems, as long as the healers get there in time. Magical injuries and curses are a different matter, but so far that has not been an issue.

Reaction to Moony's death has been mixed, but mostly positive concerning how it was handled. I know some of you don't like characters dying at all, but if they are truly in the middle of a war then death is unavoidable. It is unrealistic to expect otherwise.

I've also got to commend you guys on your reviews recently, they've been great. I especially love it when you say what you liked and what you would have liked to see differently.


	31. Chapter 31

A few days later Harry and Sirius had finally managed to clear everything out of the basement so that it was usable as an practice space. For Harry the nearly three weeks spent without any substantial training had quickly gone from annoying to almost unbearable. His body had gotten so used to him depleting his magical reserves on a constant basis that he physically felt odd when he had not. Finally though Harry was free to return to his normal schedule, and he was loving it. The best part of the day, however, was that Daphne had been able to come over to 12 Grimmauld place and join him.

"Do you really know what you're doing there, Harry?" Sirius asked as he and Daphne watched Harry cast the protective spells around the room that would prevent anything from getting too damaged.

"I think so." Harry answered. "But I've never tried these spells before so I guess we'll just have to see." Daphne laughed at the response and turned towards Sirius, letting Harry continue to work.

"Don't worry, he'll get it right." she assured Sirius. "It's amazing how much he's improved in the past year, and knowing how much he's been looking forward to this I bet he's read how to do those spells a hundred times already."

"From what I hear, you aren't far behind him." Sirius commented.

"I don't know about that." Daphne answered somewhat modestly. "I may have improved in terms of skill, but not in power like Harry has. Of course he has a built in advantage when it comes to that, so I guess I shouldn't be too upset."

"You did the right thing in Diagon Alley." Sirius said. "I just thought you ought to know that. You kept your head down and helped out as much as you could without endangering yourself. You and Neville landed a few good hits, too."

"I wish I could have done more." Daphne replied. "I'm sorry about your friend. Professor Lupin was one of the only good Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers we ever had."

"I appreciate it." Sirius said. "But don't underestimate how valuable your help was. The Death Eaters never enter a battle in which they are at a disadvantage. They expected to face two adults and three children, and underestimating you three was their first mistake. That would have been a ten versus five fight, but we got lucky. Tonks and the other Auror was there which evened things out a bit. The Weasleys, unfortunately, did little to help. Molly was too worried about protecting her kids, Ron and Ginny panicked, and the twins weren't able to do anything more than annoy the Death Eaters. You and Neville though stayed calm and became an asset, not a liability. I'm proud of you both for that."

"Thank you." Daphne said. She was grateful for the praise, but was still sad that one of their own had died despite their best efforts. She might not have been as close to Remus as Harry was, but the next time something like that happened it could easily be someone she was close to like her father or Harry. It could even be her, she knew.

"It's ready!" Harry announced as he walked over to where Sirius and Daphne were standing. "Who wants to test it?"

"Why don't you, Harry." Sirius replied with a grin. "It is, after all, your work." Harry looked towards Daphne to see if she wanted to try it, but she simply laughed at his eagerness.

"Go on." she told him. Harry smiled as he walked back towards the center of the large room. The spells he had cast had been powerful and quite draining, but if he had done it correctly he would not have to recast them for several weeks. Taking a deep breath and steadily raising his wand, Harry started trying to decide which spell to use. Anything with fire was out because the last thing he needed to do was start a house fire if the protective spells had been cast improperly. Finally deciding on one Harry began the wand movement and concentrated on the incantation but did not say it aloud. The bright light of Harry's Diffindo charm raced towards the wall Harry had been aiming at, but a split second before it would have hit the wall and ripped a gash into it the spell seemed to hit a magical wall of orange light that rippled like water as it absorbed the impact of Harry's spell. The wall soon faded though, leaving everything looking exactly as it had before.

"Bravo!" Sirius called as he began clapping. Daphne soon after joined him.

"Guess it works then, huh?" Harry said in response. "You don't have to clap, it wasn't that complex of a spell."

"Oh fine, spoil my fun." Sirius replied. "Now, I've heard all about what you've been learning this last year. Why don't you show me."

Harry smiled at the request and for the next hour he demonstrated the different spells he had learned. Daphne, bored of just watching, eventually joined in to show that she too could cast almost all of them although perhaps not as powerfully as Harry. Sirius was amazed at how advanced Harry was, but in retrospect he decided that he should have expected it. His mother was an absolute genius when it came to charms and was quite skilled at potions as well. James, when he wasn't chasing Lily or playing Quidditch, was better at Transfiguration than everyone else in their year. They both seemed to have passed on a little of their natural talents to their son.

Eventually they decided that they were too hungry to continue and went back upstairs for a late lunch. The Weasley's had returned to continue helping out, which Harry did not expect. Sirius assumed Molly was probably feeling bad about what had happened to Remus and was doing housework for him as a way to make him feel better. When Harry and the others reached the kitchen Molly was cleaning up the mess she had made making lunch and Ron was blissfully attacking a large bowl of soup.

"There's plenty here for everyone." Molly announced as they walked in. They all sat at the table with Ron, who had finally noticed them and waved hello before going back to his meal, to begin their lunch. They ate quietly for the most part, which made it even odder when Ron finally spoke up.

"Hey, uhh, Greengrass?" Ron said uncertainly.

"Yes?" Daphne answered curiously. Harry too looked at his old friend, wondering what he was doing.

"I just wanted to say... thanks. For what you did in Diagon Alley." Ron continued. The whole time he talked he stared down at his empty bowl. "That guy would have killed me if you hadn't been there, so thanks."

"Oh." Daphne answered, a litte surprised by Ron's behavior. "You're welcome then." Ron nodded, got up from the table and left the room without saying anything else.

"Did you tell him to do that?" Sirius asked Molly after a few moments of silence.

"No. That must have been his idea." she answered with a proud look on her face. "The Weasley family owes you a debt of gratitude, Daphne. If you ever need our help, we'll be there the best we can."

"I'll remember that, Mrs Weasley. Thanks." Daphne replied. As she finished saying that a loud gonging noise was heard from the direction of the living room. When Harry first heard the noise it had confused him but he had learned it was the wizarding equivalent of a telephone ringing and meant that someone was floo-calling them.

"I'll see who it is." Harry announced as he got up and headed towards the living room. Once there he saw the face of Daniel Greengrass staring up at him.

"Ah, Harry! Just who I wanted to talk to." Daniel said. "Are you and Daphne having fun?"

"Hi Mr Greengrass. Yeah, we are. Is something wrong?" Harry asked.

"No, nothing like that. I have a surprise for you and Daphne lined up, why don't you both come back here. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so."

"Alright." Harry answered uncertainly. "I'll go get Daphne."

"Excellent!" Daniel replied. "Hurry though; there is no time to waste." Harry left and explained to Daphne and Sirius what he had been told. Neither of them had any idea what he could have been talking about, but Daphne assured them that this kind of behavior was not out of the ordinary for her dad. The best thing for them to do would be to go along with it because they would probably enjoy whatever it was he had planned.

And so, a few minutes later Harry and Daphne stepped out of the floo and into the Greengrass home. Grasping Harry's hand, Daphne led him to another part of the house in an attempt to locate her father. Eventually they found him in the sitting room looking over a piece of parchment.

"So what's the surprise?" Daphne asked as they entered the room.

"We have a guest coming." Daniel explained. "Whatever happens, I need you both to follow my lead, ok? In fact, in may be best if you tried to say as little as possible and just let me handle this."

"What are you talking about?" Daphne said in an obviously confused tone. But a moment later one of their house elves appeared to announce that their guest had arrived and was being shown in. Daniel motioned for Harry and Daphne to sit down and stood up to meet their guest. When the door opened Harry was only barely able to stifle his gasp of surprise when he saw who it was.

"Ah, Ms Skeeter. Please come in, sit down." Daniel said as he welcomed the annoying reporter in. Rita Skeeter's eyes lit up when she saw that Harry and Daphne were both in the room and she began to imagine how much attention a joint interview with them would bring her.

"Thank you, Mr Greengrass." she said as she sat down at a table that had been prepared for them. A tray of drinks was brought in for them to enjoy as they talked. "I am curious about why you called me here though..."

"Yes, I suppose you would be." Daniel replied as he took a sip of his drink. "You have done your best to drag my family's name through the mud during the past year, not to mention the abuse you have heaped onto Harry here."

"Don't be so sensitive." Rita said dismissively. "It's just a story in the newspaper. What harm could it actually do?"

"I thought you might see it that way." Daniel said with a shake of his head. "We're here because I want to offer you a deal, Ms Skeeter. I offer you my assistance and protection, and in exchange you never write another word about my family or Harry Potter ever again."

"You must be joking!" Rita laughed. "I don't need your help or protection, and I will not be told what to write about."

"Are you sure?" Daniel asked. "This is my last offer, turn me down now and you will never get it again."

"No." Rita answered confidently.

"Well then, I suppose I should explain why you might need my help and protection." Daniel answered with a smile. "I know everything, Ms Skeeter. All of your secrets."

"I highly doubt that!" Rita snorted.

"Let's start with the fact that you are an unlicensed Animagus. A beetle to be precise." Daniel began. "You do know that is illegal, don't you?" Rita looked a bit unnerved by the revelation, but was able to keep a smile plastered on her face.

"So you know about that, huh?" Rita said. "No matter, I will simply pay the fine and continue my work. That is not enough to keep me from writing about you or anyone I want."

"Oh but there's more. I've had an associate following you for the past few months." Daniel explained. "He, like you, is an unregistered Animagus. His form is a common pigeon. Something you could see a dozen times a day and not be suspicious of. He has been watching and compiling a list of your various crimes. I have a copy here, if you'd like." He handed her the piece of parchment he had been looking at earlier and as soon as she began to read it the color drained out of her face.

"Lies!" Rita shrieked once she had finished reading. "All lies!"

"Could you say that under Veritaserum? I highly doubt it." Daniel replied with a laugh. "An interesting read though, wasn't it? Stealing documents from the Ministry is a serious offense, Rita. And using an illegal animagus form to do so only makes it worse. And isn't it odd that you, a reporter supposedly dedicated to exposing corruption; is an integral piece of the corrupt infrastructure that has overtaken our government? Fudge was bribing you to write nice things about him, although you clearly turned on him when the bribes stopped coming. And what will the Aurors do when they discover your interest in dark artifacts?"

"Those are for research purposes! Nothing more." Rita insisted.

"Of course they are. But will they believe that? I think not." Daniel said. "Oh, and did I forget to mention that this list was placed on Amelia Bones' desk an hour ago? How silly of me, it must have slipped my mind."

"How dare you!" Rita angrily yelled. "You've ruined my life!"

"We aren't done here, not by a long shot." Daniel practically growled. "Bring in Ms Skeeter's things!" In a flash house elves began dropping suitcases and clothes on the floor.

"You broke into my home and stole my clothes?" Rita said with a look of confusion. "Why?"

"I'm sorry to say that my elves were a bit careless." Daniel said with a nod. "Your apartment is quite a mess. Why, it looks like someone was trying to leave in hurry for some reason. As if, maybe, they expected to be arrested if they stayed much longer"

"I won't run!" Rita said. "I'll explain everything, whatever punishment they give me won't be too bad. And then I will make you pay for this."

"Maybe so, but you're forgetting about the potion I slipped into your drink." Daniel commented. "Curious about what it does?"

"You've poisoned me?!" Rita said in shock.

"No, no, certainly not." Daniel answered with a shake of his head. "The potion merely traps you in your Animagus form. Judging from how much you drank, I would guess you will remain a beetle for almost a year once the potion takes effect. That should be any moment now, by the way. It took me months to finally brew that potion correctly; I do hope you enjoy the fruit of my labors."

"You've made your point." Rita said finally, lowering her head in defeat. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing. You turned down my offer, remember? Like I said, that was the last chance you had." Daniel replied. "The last part of your punishment is this." Daniel reached down beside him and brought up a large glass jar.

"Are you going to imprison me in that?" Rita asked, the fear beginning to show in her voice.

"No. Well, yes but not for long. This is actually a portkey which will take you somewhere that you might feel a little more at home in your animagus form. There must be billions of insects in the Amazon rainforest, wouldn't you think? Although I must ask you to be careful, some of them probably eat beetles."

"You wouldn't!" Rita yelled, although she clearly wasn't convinced of it.

"I would and I will." Daniel yelled back. "Did you really think you could attack my family and get no response from me? If so you are a fool. If you do live through this I suggest you stay out of England and try to forget you ever heard of me or my family. Cross me again and my next response will not be so lenient."

Rita tried to respond, but her words were cut off as she began to make a choking noise. Her hands flew to her throat as she gasped for air, but then she very slowly began to change into her beetle form. It was clear she was fighting te change, but she stood no chance against the powerful potion. Once she had become a beetle she attempted to flee but a simple Accio charm was enough to send her flying into the glass jar which was then capped shut. Daniel set it on the table and looked towards Harry and Daphne who had silently watched the scene in shock.

"Are you really going to do all that?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Daniel answered. "She deserves it. Sometimes it isn't enough simply to win, Harry. You must crush your enemies and see them driven before you. If that bothers you, then take comfort in knowing I am not doing this for you. I am doing it for myself and to protect my family." Harry nodded and then noticed the glass jar containing Rita Skeeter had begun to glow. A moment later it disappeared, apparently headed for a South American jungle full of creatures just waiting for a tasty beetle to eat for lunch.

"Do you think she'll live?" Harry asked once it was gone.

"Maybe. Her chances will dramatically increase if she's able to make it back to civilization." Daniel commented. "I guess we'll find out in a year."

"That may have been a little harsh, dad." Daphne said. "Even for a vile piece of trash like Skeeter."

"Her attacks on Harry and Dumbledore served no purpose but to help the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters." Daniel answered. "She may not have officially been on their side, but she may as well have been. Make no mistake, this is a victory for the war effort." Harry could see the man's point and felt it would be silly to argue with him about it now. Daphne shrugged at the answer but did not say anything else about it.

"Come on Harry, let's go outside and I'll introduce you to our hippogriff." Daphne finally said, to which Harry happily agreed. They spent the rest of the day together, and after a while Harry even stopped wondering if Rita Skeeter had been eaten by a frog or trapped in a spiderweb somewhere on the other side of the world.

* * *

When Harry returned to 12 Grimmauld Place through the floo later on he was in an excellent mood. That, however, quickly changed when he saw that Professor Dumbledore was sitting down waiting for him. Harry considered walking out the door, but his curiosity on what the old man wanted got the better of him.

"Hello, Professor." Harry said.

"It's good to see you again, Harry." Dumbledore replied. "Why don't you have a seat for a while. I'd like to talk to you."

"Fine." Harry said as he sat down on the couch across from Dumbledore. "Why don't we start with why you tried to keep me at the Dursley's." Dumbledore sighed as if he would rather not discuss it, but began to answer anyway.

"Voldemort has still not found a solution to his weakness due to the ritual to return him to his body being performed incorrectly. As of now that is our greatest advantage over him, and we must do whatever necessary in order to maintain it." Dumbledore explained. "When Severus explained to Voldemort that the only way he knew of to restore his strength was to perform the ritual again Voldemort told the Death Eater's that their top priority was to capture you. He seems to believe that your blood is the key.

"Why? It was Wormtail's part of the ritual that was wrong. Not my blood." Harry pointed out.

"True, but Voldemort has apparently experimented extensively on Wormtail and decided his flesh does not hold the secret to correcting the ritual." Dumbledore answered. "I believed then, as I do now, that we must prevent Voldemort from capturing you at all costs. I fear that if he does somehow get to you he could kill you and increase his strength in one fell swoop. If that happens, and the prophecy holds true, our world could be plunged into a darkness from which it may never recover. You are safest living with your relatives, despite the animosity between you."

"I disagree, though I understand why you think that." Harry replied. "But what I don't get is why you decided to try and trap me there without even discussing it with me first."

"It was, perhaps, a mistake on my part. However I knew you would never agree to such a request." Dumbledore said as Harry nodded in agreement with the statement. "You must survive Harry, not only for your own sake but for that of the entire world."

"The prophecy again? You know, I'm not sure I even believe in it." Harry commented.

"I do. And Voldemort does as well." Dumbledore pointed out. "He will keep coming for you, there is no doubt of that. We can better oppose him working together, not separately as you and Sirius seem to be doing."

"And what do you mean by that?" Harry asked.

"I am no fool, Harry. I know that you have destroyed the Horcruxes contained in Ravenclaw's Diadem and the one in Marvolo Gaunt's ring. I did not attempt to prevent you from doing so."

"Why didn't you help me then?" Harry said, surprised that Dumbledore knew. "What have you been doing to get rid of the Horcruxes?"

"Nothing, as I suspect it must be." Dumbledore answered. "According to the prophecy it is your task to vanquish the Dark Lord. I find it hard to believe that it was a mere coincidence that you destroyed the Horcrux in Tom Riddle's diary and were able to gain extensive knowledge on all of Voldemorts Horcruxes if this task were not up to you. And since then you have destroyed two more, further evidence that this point of view is correct."

"But you can't know that!" Harry replied. "No one else has tried to get rid of one yet. It could be just one big coincidence."

"Perhaps, but I still so no reason to stand in your way. That day at the Gaunt's old house, I was there watching you and Sirius." Dumbledore said, prompting a look of surprise from Harry. "Yes, I suspected you did not know that. If I felt that either of you were in any danger I could have arrived in a few short moments. But in the end you did not require my help, and I commend you for your efforts."

"There are still other Horcruxes out there." Harry pointed out. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"If you wish." Dumbledore said with a nod. "Now, are you going to tell me what it is you and Sirius are up to? I will find out even if you don't tell me." Harry looked a little angry at that comment, but knew Dumbledore was right.

"We want to attack the Dementors while they're still at Azkaban." Harry said. "Most witches and wizards don't even know how to cast a Patronus meaning there is not much they can do to fight one off. But we can kill them. Just think of how many lives we could save if we acted now and didn't just sit around waiting for them to attack."

"The idea has merit." Dumbledore agreed. "The Dementors are monsters, not men, and I do not oppose destroying them."

"Sirius and I have discussed it quite a bit." Harry replied. "And we realize that this will be hard on the Aurors since they will have to guard the prison now, but the Dementors are going to leave eventually anyway."

"That is likely." Dumbledore said with a small nod.

"We think that with a couple of people who can cast the Dementor killing version of the Patronus and a dozen or so other who can cast a normal one we can trap the Dementors inside Azkaban and destroy them one by one." Harry explained.

"Interesting." Dumbledore replied. "I will consider it."

"And by that do you mean I won't hear anything about it again?"

"No, Harry." Dumbledore answered. "It means I will think about the strengths and weaknesses of th idea and decide what to do from there. I will make my decision within the week. I assume you wish to be a part of the team that would mount the attack?"

"Not many other people can cast a Patronus like mine, so yes." Harry said. "Haven't I proved by now that I can handle myself in dangerous situations?"

"I suppose you have." Dumbledore said. "That brings up another point I wished to discuss with you Harry, I am worried about your reaction to killing Fenrir Greyback and Rabastan Lestrange."

"I'm not sure what you want me to say, Professor." Harry answered with a sigh. "I wish they had never put me in that situation. I wish there wasn't a war going on and that my friends weren't in danger. But they are, and it's their fault. I refuse to mourn the same men who killed Moony and drove Neville's parents insane. They started this, not me."

"I worry that this is not you speaking."

"It is sir." Harry assured him. "My attitude may have changed some, but I still know right from wrong. It is wrong to kill innocents, and that is exactly what they do."

"Very well, but I do hope you will consider that everyone should have the chance to redeem themselves." Dumbledore said. "Sometimes your greatest ally can be someone who was once your greatest enemy."

"I'll think about it." Harry answered, but internally he was thinking how ridiculous it would be to expect Voldemort to repent off his sins and beg forgiveness. "If that's all, I'll be going now."

"Indeed." Dumbledore replied as he stood up from the chair. "I do regret our disagreements Harry, but I believe we can get past them and work together."

Harry nodded at his words and Dumbledore seemed pleased by the response. The professor then walked out of the room and left the house without saying anything else, leaving Harry to wonder what Dumbledore's next move actually would be. He had no idea, but knew that the assualt on Azkaban would be much easier with his help than without it. Plus getting a group of people willing to help out would be much more difficult if Dumbledore was actively opposing the idea. He hated just waiting for Dumbledore's decision, but at the moment there was not much more he could do.

* * *

Author's Note:

Ron got his start on the road to redemption here. How far he'll be able to go is still an open question, but he is not a villain in this story. Neither is Dumbledore for that matter, despite his actions during the last few chapters. He made, and continues to make, mistakes but he has good intentions. The problem is that the more responsibility a person has the larger their mistakes are likely to be. That's just my take on it. Hope you guys are still liking the story, and thanks as always for reading and commenting.


	32. Chapter 32

Harry was in the library looking through a book on potions he had found when he heard the front door to 12 Grimmauld Place open. A few seconds later he then heard the sound of something crashing to the ground which awoke the portrait of Walburga Black. The angry magical picture began yelling obscenities as loudly as it could at whoever it was who had entered.

"Shut up, you old hag!" Harry heard a familiar voice shout back. Mrs Black, of course, did not comply with the order but continued to scream. Harry got up and left the library just in time to see Tonks walking down the corridor still looking angry at the portrait. "Wotcher, Harry. Look who I found." Tonks took a step to the side to reveal that Hermione had walked in behind her.

"Hermione!" Harry said as he rushed forward to greet his friend. "When did you get back?"

"Just yesterday." Hermione answered. "Thanks for bringing me, Tonks."

"No problem." Tonks replied. "Sirius thought Harry would appreciate having someone around to bother him today since he isn't here."

"Where did Sirius go?" Harry asked. "I didn't get the chance to ask him before he left this morning. It sounded like he was in a hurry."

"A couple of giants tore apart a little village in Yorkshire last night. The Aurors didn't get there in time to stop it, just to try and cover it up from the muggles." Tonks explained. "Sirius, Dumbledore, and a few others went to try and figure out why the giants attacked. They usually stay away from populated areas. Dumbledore seems to think that You-Know-Who has already started encouraging the giants go on rampages. You can't really control the giants, but you can get them pissed off and point them towards something you want them to destroy."

"Did this happen last time, too?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Sure it did." Tonks replied with a nod. "Luckily there aren't that many giants around, and even fewer that are willing to come to England and fight. But there will be some. And unless there is absolutely no choice you should run when faced with an angry giant. Those guys are almost as hard to take down as dragons."

"No giants here, Tonks." Harry said. "We'll be ok."

"Yeah you say that now, but what are you going to do when one jumps out of the closet at you?" Tonks asked, grinning. "Come running to me, that's what. Alright, well I've got to get to work. You two try to stay out of trouble, or at least don't blame me if you do get into trouble."

"Thanks again, Tonks!" Hermione said. The now purple haired Auror smiled and waved good-bye as she left the house and Harry and Hermione behind. Once she was gone Harry looked towards Hermione and saw that her smile had been replaced with a look of worry and sadness.

"Hermione? Are you ok" Harry asked uncertainly. Hermione responded by hugging him and beginning to cry.

"I'm so sorry, Harry!" she began. "I heard what happened to Professor Lupin. I can only imagine how you must feel."

"It's ok, Hermione." Harry assured her as he pulled away from the hug so he could look her in the eye. "We're all still sad, but we know Moony wouldn't want us to mourn him forever. It's still hitting Sirius pretty hard, but he's doing better every day."

"And then I saw those awful things that Rita Skeeter wrote about you..." Hermione began but Harry cut her off when he began laughing. "What?"

"I wouldn't worry about Rita Skeeter anymore. Daphne's dad took care of her." Harry answered. "Come on, I'll explain while I show you around." Hermione agreed and so Harry launched into a vivid retelling of what had gone on a few days earlier Hermione was somewhat shocked at how cruelly Daniel Greengrass had dealt with Skeeter, but even she could not deny that the annoying reporter deserved it. Meanwhile Harry had shown her almost the entire house when Hermione's observant mind caught something she had missed.

"Harry, what's in that room?" she asked, pointing towards a closed door.

"Oh that's just where everyone's been putting the junk we don't know what to do with. Some of the things in there are dark and dangerous, but most of it is just garbage we need to throw away." Harry answered. He was about to show her something else when he noticed the look on her face. "You want to see it too, don't you? Ok, prepare to be underwhelmed..."

Harry opened the door and walked into the room with her. In truth he had not bothered to come in the room before either, except for briefly to throw something into it. Now that he was inside though his curiosity had started to get the better of him and he began to wonder what hidden treasures might be hidden in amongst the trash.

"Hey look at this, Hermione. It's a remembrall, just like the one Neville had in our first year." Harry said as he held the small sphere. Instead of being clear or red though as remembralls normally were, this one seemed to be alternating wildly between the two colors. "Oh, I think this one's broken..."

"A lot of this stuff is." Hermione commented as she looked through a box that had been shoved into the corner of the room. Inside it was a large stack of parchment which caused Hermione to laugh when she looked at it closer. "Harry, I've found Sirius' old school work! Here's a essay he wrote on the Goblin Rebellion of 1612. Looks like Binns gave him a Dreadful on it..."

"Really? I think I managed to get a poor on that one." Harry said. "It's hard to remember anything we do in that class though. So bloody boring."

"You really should try harder, Harry." Hermione scolded him. "Especially with our OWLs this year."

"Come on, Hermione. You know I'm near the top in our year in almost every other class I'm in." Harry whined. "It's just that there is not practical part of Histor of Magic, it's all theory. Besides, I pulled my grade up to an Exceeds Expectations last year didn't I?"

"I suppose." Hermione finally agreed. Her attention was then caught by another item. "I wonder what that is. Not really my color, but it is sort of pretty."

"Whatever it is, don't touch it." Harry warned, not bothering to turn and look at what Hermione was looking at. "Even normal looking things could have curses on them."

"I know." Hermione replied, clearly offended that Harry thought she needed the warning. "Besides, a necklace with a big snake on it is a little tacky for my tastes."

"What did you say?" Harry said as he quickly turned his head around. He rushed towards where Hermione was standing and stared in disbelief at the item laying in front of him. "It can't be! This isn't possible..."

"Harry? What's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"This shouldn't be here, Hermione." Harry answered. "Don't you see? This is Slytherin's Pendant, the same one that Voldemort stole and turned into a Horcrux. But this should be in cave guarded by Inferi, not sitting in a cabinet at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters."

"Is it safe to touch?" Hermione asked.

"Sort of." Harry replied. "If it were open it could possess a person like the diary tried to possess Ginny, but since it is closed it will mostly just put you in a bad mood. I have to destroy it." Harry reached into the cabinet and pulled the pendant out, but as soon as he did Sirius' insane house elf Kreacher appeared before them.

"You must leave master's necklace!" the house elf yelled as it threw itself at Harry, attempting to rip the pendant from his hand. Kreacher had caught him off guard and knocked him on his back, but Harry maintained a tight grip on the Horcrux and the old elf was unable to take it from him.

"Incarcerous!" Hermione yelled. Immediately ropes began shooting out of her wand and surrounded the house elf. By the time she finished the spell Kreacher was completely surrounded by ropes and unable to move anything except for his head.

"Thanks, Hermione. I owe you one." Harry said as he pulled himself up. "Now Kreacher, I order you to tell me everything you know about this necklace."

"Filthy little half blood! Not worthy to live in master's house!" Kreacher continued to shout.

"Now, Kreacher!" Harry commanded. The house elf looked at him angrily, but began to explain.

"Master Regulus told me that I must destroy it!" Kreacher said. "But I can't. I failed my master!" Kreacher began to bang his head on the ground violently and Harry suspected he would be doing much worse if he could move his entire body.

"Stop it, Kreacher." Harry ordered him. Kreacher stopped hitting his head but continued to whine as Harry began to think about what he knew of the locket. From Voldemort's memories he knew where it was hidden and what protected it in addition to how it was created. He wasn't, however, aware of the Horcrux ever being moved. Harry was about to give up when a new memory came to mind. Voldemort had used a house elf to test the protections around the Horcrux. Voldemort did not consider the identity of the house elf to be important and so Harry didn't have access to that information, but could it be possible that Voldemort had used Kreacher? "Kreacher, I want to ask you something very important. You must tell me the truth. Did Voldemort ever make you drink poison so that he could see how well protected this necklace was?"

"Yes!" the crazy elf screamed. "Bad man thought Kreacher was dead, but master Regulus callled me and I went. Master was very angry when he heard what bad man had done! I showed master where bad man had taken me and then... then... MASTER!" Kreacher began to cry and attempt to hurt himself again. Harry was forced to reissue his command to stop before Kreacher would continue. "Master Regulus took the locket and ordered me to destroy it. He ordered me to leave him there to die. I did not want to, but he forced me!"

"It's ok, Kreacher. I think I understand." Harry assured him. "Regulus turned on Voldemort at the end, I'd bet Sirius will be happy to hear that. Kreacher, we want to help you. I know how to destroy this, you just have to let me do it."

"Can you?" Kreacher asked hopefully. Harry nodded his head and the elf began bouncing up and down despite the ropes that constrained him. This time, however, he seemed to be happy and not trying to hurt himself.

"Diffindo." Harry said, cutting the ropes that held Kreacher. "Now, bring me the wooden box that is hidden under my bed." Kreacher nodded and vanished. A moment later the elf had returned holding the box that Harry had spoken of which contained his basilisk fang. Harry smiled gratefully as he took the box and placed it on a table that had been left in the room. He set the locket down next to it and was preparing to open the locket so he could destroy it when an idea came to him.

"Hermione, why don't you do this?" Harry said, holding the basilisk fang out to her.

"Me? But why?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore thinks I'm the only one that can get rid of the Horcruxes" Harry explained. "It would prove him wrong if you could do it. It'll be ok Hermione, and I'll be right here to take over if anything goes wrong."

"Ok." Hermione replied uncertainly. "What do I do?"

"I'm going to open the locket and when I do I want you to stab it with the basilisk fang." Harry told her. "The Horcrux will try and save itself by any making you feel like your worst dreams have come true, but it isn't real. Just ignore whatever it is telling you and kill it. Do you think you can do that?"

"Open it, Harry." Hermione answered with a nod as she held the fang up ready to strike. Harry leaned in towards the locket and hissed '_Open_' in parseltongue which caused the locket to spring open. Inside each side of the locket looked like eyes that were staring at them angrily. It immediately began to taunt and insult Hermione, and she hesitated as she seemed captivated by its words.

"They don't like you, mudblood!" the Horcrux proclaimed. "They never did. They all make fun of you. You aren't smart enough! You'll never be good enough! You don't deserve to be a witch!" Hermione finally slammed the fang down into the locket and it broke apart with an angry scream. When it was over Hermione let the fang drop out of her hand to the floor as tears began to run down her face. Harry, sensing she needed to be reassured, rushed to his friend and pulled her into a hug.

"You did great, Hermione." Harry said. "And don't listen to what the Horcrux said, you know it isn't true. None of it is."

"I know, but it still made me feel so awful Harry." Hermione explained. "For a moment I almost believed that you all thought I was just a stupid, worthless little girl."

"Not true." Harry said. "You feel better now that it's dead, don't you?"

"Yes." Hermione answered. "Whatever it did to me is already wearing off."

"Kreacher will bring master's mudblood pepper up potion!" Kreacher announced before vanishing.

"Well that was odd." Harry commented as he looked at where the elf had stood just moments before.

"I think you just found another elf hopelessly devoted to you." Hermione said with a laugh. "I wonder what Dobby is going to think of that." Kreacher suddenly reappeared and offered Hermione a vial containing a potion which after closer inspection she confirmed to be pepper up potion. Although she no longer felt like she needed it, Hermione drank the potion anyway in an effort to be nice to Kreacher.

"Can I do anything else for you, Ms Mudblood?" Kreacher asked hopefully.

"Just stop calling me that name, ok?" Hermione answered. "It's Hermione."

"Yes! Anything you wish." Kreacher said as he eagerly nodded his head.

"You were wrong, Hermione." Harry said with a laugh. "It looks like it's you he is devoted to, not me." Kreacher did nothing to contradict this point of view, causing Harry to laugh even more and Hermione to feel a little uncomfortable. For the rest of the day Kreacher hardly left her alone, insisting that he be allowed to bring her anything she needed. Hermione tried to convince Kreacher that she appreciated his offer but did not require his help but he was not convinced in the least. Her explanation of the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare and its goals likewise fell on deaf ears. In the end she was forced to accept that there was nothing she could do to change Kreacher's attitude, even though that was difficult for her to do.

Harry, although he was happy with the outcome of the day, was worried about the one of the other Horcruxes: Hufflepuff's Cup. He knew Nagini could always be found near Voldemort but the Cup could easily have been moved. And if Voldemort ever figured out what was happening he would move it without delay. That reminded him that there was nothing at all more important than destroying the last two Horcruxes.

* * *

A few hours later Harry and Hermione were sitting in the kitchen talking when they heard Sirius come in. Once he found them he took a seat next to them and it was clear to both Harry and Hermione that he had had a long and stressful day.

"Are you ok, Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Fine, Harry." Sirius answered with a forced smile. "Did Tonks fill you in on what I was doing?"

"Giants." Harry replied.

"That's right." Sirius said. "Dumbledore had hoped that he and Hagrid could convince them to stay out of the fight, but apparently Voldemort got to them first. There weren't any giants left in England after the first war with Voldemort, so the only explanation for what happened last night is that he has started bringing them over already."

"How many giants are there?" Hermione asked.

"Around eighty in all, but that counts the females and children as well." Sirius said. "It's impossible to say how many are here."

"Is the ministry doing anything about it?" Harry asked, although not really expecting the government to do much.

"Last time around they had squads of specially trained Aurors out hunting the giants. I expect they'll do the same now." Sirius explained. "But there's more going on than that. Take a look at this." Sirius pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet out of his coat and placed it on the table. The headline read "Attack on the Ministry!" and below it showed the picture of a man who had stripped of his clothes and nailed to the wall of the Ministry of Magic building. A group of Aurors were working to take the man down and from the movement it was clear that the man was still alive but it horrible pain. Hanging above his head was a sign that looked like it had been written in blood that said "MUDBLOOD".

"Who is this?" Harry asked, knowing that Voldemort would not go to so much trouble for just anybody.

"His name is Henry Collins. We were in the same year at Hogwarts, although he was in Hufflepuff, and both joined the Aurors at the same time." Sirius said. "He was also Minister Bones' chief of staff and the highest ranking muggleborn in the government. The Death Eaters apparently didn't like that and used the Cruciatus curse on him until he was driven mad. Then they did that to him."

"They're trying to scare muggleborns." Hermione commented as she looked at the picture.

"Probably so." Sirius agreed.

"No, you don't get it." Hermione said. "Whoever did this knows more about muggles than the average wizard. I wouldn't be surprised if they were a half blood or raised around muggles."

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"This man wasn't just nailed to the wall, he was crucified." Hermione explained, but from the look on Sirius' face she could see that he still didn't understand why that was significant. "The most common religion among British muggles is Christianity, and crucifixion is a very powerful and symbolic image for them. Also the word 'cruciatus' uses the same root as crucifixion or excruciating. All of this was done in a very specific way meant to taunt and provoke muggles."

"But what Death Eater would know enough about muggles to do that?" Sirius wondered.

"Maybe it was Voldemort himself. He was a half blood and raised by muggles after all." Harry said. "I bet he would understand what message was being sent."

"That could be important if it's true." Sirius said thoughtfully. "Up until now there haven't been any reports of Voldemort actually participating in attacks. It's not good news if he is feeling comfortable enough in his new body to start leading the Death Eaters in to battle again."

"It was bound to happen eventually." Harry pointed out. "If he doesn't fight the Death Eaters might start to wonder if he still can. I've seen him though, and even in his weakened state he's more powerful than any wizard I've ever met. Dumbledore might be able to match him, but I'm not even sure about that."

"That's not good to hear." Sirius said with a sigh.

"I do have good news though." Harry replied. "We got another Horcrux today."

"Harry you said you were going to wait for me to come with you before you tried to enter that cave!" Sirius said, the worry evident in his voice. "Inferi, especially in great numbers, are incredibly dangerous. What would you have done if they had taken hold of you?"

"Calm down Sirius." Harry said. "We didn't go into the cave. It turns out the Horcrux was here all along."

"What? How?"

"Your brother Regulus betrayed Voldemort, and died trying to make him mortal again." Harry explained. "Kreacher brought the locket back here but couldn't destroy it. We did."

"You're not joking here are you? My brother fought against Voldemort?" Sirius asked. Harry shook his head no and a small smile broke out on Sirius' face. "Damn it Regulus, why didn't you come to me for help?"

"Were you two close?" Hermione asked.

"Not as close as we should have been." Sirius answered. "I was an outcast in my own family, but my parents loved Regulus. He got sorted into Slytherin like they thought I should have and always acted just like they wanted him to. But maybe in the end we had more in common than anyone thought. Thank you Harry, and you too Hermione. You have both given me a gift that I will treasure for the rest of my life: the knowledge that my brother redeemed himself before he died."

"I'm glad we could help." Hermione replied.

"Sirius, Bellatrix Lestrange is your cousin right?" Harry asked, unexpectedly changing the topic. From the look on his face a thought had just occurred to him.

"Yes she is, you know that." Sirius said. "Why?"

"Well, her husband Rabastan is dead. So who would her vault go to if she died?" Harry asked. Sirius leaned back in his chair a little and thought about the question for a moment.

"She never bothered to make a will, I know that much." Sirius began. "I suppose I might have a claim to it as the head of the Black family, but according to goblin law Rodolphus or any Lestrange would have a better one because Bellatrix is still technically considered a Lestrange."

"How many Lestranges are there?" Harry asked.

"Just the two of them." Sirius replied. "I see where you're going with this Harry..."

"It's not a bad plan." Harry argued.

"But it'll be difficult."

"Easier than breaking in to Gringott's, don't you think?"

"Wait a second!" Hermione said, interrupting them. "Are you seriously considering killing two people just so you can take what's in her vault? That's awful!"

"They are both evil people, Hermione." Harry explained. "They tortured Neville's parents into insanity. They are part of the reason Moony is dead. And if by killing them we can bring Voldemort one step closer to being mortal then I am in favor of it."

"I'm not arguing that they are good people, but isn't there another way?" Hermione asked.

"If you have a better plan I want to hear it." Harry replied. "All I'm saying is that if we do run into either of them again it might be a good idea to try and take them permanently out of the fight."

"I don't like it, Harry." Hermione said. "And I'm going to figure out another way to get the Horcrux."

"I hope you do." Harry answered honestly. "But until then this is the best plan we've got."

"We have no idea where they are or where they're going to be, Harry." Sirius commented. "I can't help but feel like your idea is very dependant on luck."

"But Bellatrix wants the both of us dead." Harry replied. "We're bound to run into her again. And wouldn't you think that whatever she is trying to do Rodolphus would help? It was his brother that died after all."

"Perhaps so." Sirius agreed. "I'm not saying it's a bad plan Harry, but I'm just not sure it is one we can act on at the moment. I'll keep it in mind though."

"I guess that's all we can do then." Harry said. Harry continued to think about his plan. It did not really bother him that it required the death of two Death Eaters. In his mind the Lestranges had already committed crimes worthy of that. He also wished there was another way to get the Horcrux, but could not think of a better idea. Perhaps, he thought, Hermione could come up with something. She had rarely failed to come up with a good idea in the past. Still, the one part his plan assumed was that he would actually be able to kill the Lestranges when he got the opportunity. That might be more difficult than it sounded. "Hey Sirius, you up for a duel?"

"I've been wondering when you would finally ask me." Sirius chuckled. "Come on, let's see if all of that training of yours has paid off." Harry and Sirius practically sprinted off to the basement with Hermione following not far behind to watch. Over the next hour as the fought each other it became clear that Harry was already significantly more powerful than Sirius, but Sirius was also creative and had excellent instincts during a fight which mostly made up for his disadvantage. In the end though Sirius was not able to stop Harry from winning, and even then he had the creeping suspicion that Harry had been toying with him for the last half of the fight. All of which made him wonder, just how good was Harry? And how good could he become?

* * *

Many miles away, the Dark Lord Voldemort sat upon a throne and reviewed the previous day's events while trying to ignore the screams of pain from the muggle one of his Death Eaters was torturing. Convincing the giants to join him had indeed been a major success. With the loss of the werewolves it was more important than ever for him to solidify his control over the giants. He of course promised them land and revenge against the wizards that had hunted them and then laughed at the fact that they were stupid enough to believe him. He fully planned to eliminate the idiotic beasts once he was done using them, a fact neither the giants nor the werewolves had grasped. The vampires, on the other hand, had always been leery of him and reluctant to offer any support. He did not like that fact, but it did raise his opinion of them slightly.

As Harry had guessed, it had been Voldemort who had led the attack on Henry Collins. He had done so without the aid of the strengthening potions that Severus had been bringing him. Voldemort was no fool and understood the risks that taking such potions constantly could pose. It was of vital importance that he not take them unless absolutely necessary in order to avoid addiction and his body nullifying the effects. The attack itself had been a success, but still something bothered him. It had taken almost a two minutes of the Cruciatus curse to destroy the man's mind, nearly double what he was normally capable of. His Death Eaters just assumed that he was drawing out the torture for his own pleasure, something he was indeed known to do occasionally, but not this time.

"Macnair!" Voldemort yelled, the noise finally annoying him. "Just kill the muggle and be done with it. I'm tired of listening to it whine."

"Yes, master." Macnair immediately replied. "Avada Kedavra!" With a flash of green light the screaming man he had been torturing was dead and the room was silent once again. Seeing that the Dark Lord wished to be alone, Macnair dragged the dead body out of the room as he left.

All things considered, Voldemort believed the war was going well for him. The Order of the Phoenix was as useless as ever and the Ministry, even under new management, had more problems to deal with then it could handle. Progress may have been a little slower than he wished, but why should an immortal being like himself worry about time anyway? Had he not just shown that death had no power over him? Yes, no matter what happened he would remain and soon his power would be undeniable. The wizarding world would have no choice but to admit that.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'm trying to find the right balance of action and plot here and I hope everyone who reads is happy with the mix I have come up with. That is one of the things I have worried about. So what say you, readers? Not enough action or about right? I'd love to hear your input.


	33. Chapter 33

As Harry lay in his bed, blissfully unaware of anything going on in the world, he smiled slightly in his sleep at the strange yet happy dream he was experiencing. He was high in the air on his Firebolt desperately looking for the snitch as the crowd cheered. The Gryffindor house team had somehow made it to the finals of the Quidditch World Cup and were playing Bulgaria and, of course, Viktor Krum. The game seemed to be going well, Harry imagined, and while he had not spotted the snitch he had managed to avoid several bludgers that had grown mouths and snarled at him as they passed by his head. Below him he heard a whistle and when he looked saw Daphne wearing a referee's uniform and calling a penalty on the Bulgarian team.

As he watched his girlfriend yell at a Bulgarian a speck of gold suddenly caught his attention. The snitch! Harry dove forward on his broom and gave chase but the little golden ball was doing its best to avoid him. Krum must have seen Harry flying after the snitch because he was soon on its trail as well. Eventually the two seekers were side by side battling for position. Krum, the larger of the two, should have been strong enough to bash Harry out of his way but in his dream Harry bravely held his position and with a powerful shove sent Krum tumbling to the ground. Now nothing separated him from the snitch. He could see it more clearly than ever now, and as he began to close the distance the crowd began to chant his name. HARRY! HARRY! HARRY...

"Harry! Wake up!"

Harry's dream world came to an abrupt end and he found himself back in his bed in his still dark room. His hand shot out to the table next to him as he clumsily tried to put his glasses on. When he did he saw that his godfather was standing next to him.

"Huh? Sirius?" Harry said, still not fully awake. "What time is it?"

"About three in the morning." Sirius answered. "Get your clothes on, we don't have much time to waste."

Harry nodded and began to change into his normal clothes. As he did Sirius paced around the room impatiently but did not explain what was going on. By the time Harry was tying his shoe laces he had finally woken up enough to demand an explanation.

"Sirius, what is going on?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore's finally agreed, we're attacking the Dementors tonight." Sirius said. "We leave in less than a half hour."

"And he didn't have a problem with me participating?" Harry asked, the shock evident in his tone.

"He's going to try and talk you out of it before we leave." Sirius warned him. "But Kingsley and Moody are both on your side. They aren't sure that the plan will work with just three people capable of casting the Dementor killing Patronus, but agree success is likely with four."

"Why now though? I didn't think he would ever agree."

"That's the other part of this." Sirius said. "Little Whinging was attacked by Dementors tonight."

"What?!" Harry gasped. "The Dursleys were supposed to still be protected, that was why I stayed."

"They're fine, Harry." Sirius assured him. "But the wards have degraded faster than any of us predicted. They're still strong enough to keep anyone from locating where exactly they live, but are weak enough to allow them to narrow the possibilities down to about half of Surrey. That's still a pretty big area, Harry."

"I know." Harry answered. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Quite a few in the surrounding towns, but as far as I know only one person actually in Little Whinging got kissed." Sirius said. "A muggle boy. Named Piers something or other."

"Piers Polkiss?"

"Sounds right." Sirius answered with a nod. "Did you know him?"

"He was a part of Dudley's little gang." Harry replied. "He was a jerk and a bully, but he didn't deserve that. I don't see why this makes a bit of difference to Dumbledore though. I don't live there anymore, I'm not in danger."

"That's true." Sirius agreed. "But I think Dumbledore is still holding on to the hope that you will go back there next summer. Don't underestimate how peristant he can be."

"If they're smart the Dursley's will be gone by then." Harry said. "I sent Petunia a way to contact me if they were ever in danger, but she hasn't done it yet. They probably don't even know anything strange has happened."

"Let's get downstairs." Sirius said as he walked towards the door. Harry, who was now ready to leave, nodded followed him. "The others are meeting here first, then we will all head to Azkaban together. The decision to go tonight was only made a few hours ago, so we should have the element of surprise on our side at the very least."

As they walked down the stairs Harry could hear several people talking before they even reached the kitchen where the Order of the Phoenix was gathering. Already present were Mad Eye Moody who was grinning about something as he talked to Kingsley Shacklebolt. Tonks, Arthur and Bill Weasley, Amos and Cedric Diggory were all sitting at the table drinking coffee in an effort to wake themselves up. A very nervous looking Mundungus Fletcher was talking to Hestia Jones who looked like she would rather be somewhere else. Severus Snape stood in the corner looking on indifferently at the assembled group. A moment later the front door opened and Emmaline Vance walked in followed by Minerva McGongall. Harry, meanwhile, sat back and watched in interest as the Order of the Phoenix prepared for its mission. For some of them it was the first time they had ever done anything like this, while for others it had been many years since the last time. A few seemed calm or even, as in the case of Mad Eye Moody, excited about what was to come. Others, particularly Mundungus Fletcher, appeared as if they were terrified by the idea of assaulting Azkaban.

"I didn't realize it was 'bring a child to work' day, Black." Snape sneered as Harry and Sirius walked towards the part of the room he was standing in.

"Shut up, Snivellus." Sirius replied. "I'd rather have him watching my back than you."

"Are you sure you'll even be able to produce a Patronus?" Snape asked. "I've heard that long time prisoners of Azkaban often find it impossible to do."

"He can, I've seen it." Harry said. "I'm surprised someone like you can do it at all. What memory do you use then, yelling at your Potions class?"

"My Patronus?" Snape laughed, "If you only knew, Potter, then you would be most surprised. But I'm not about to tell a brat like you." Snape turned and walked out of the room, but from the look on his face it seemed as if he had found something about the conversation very amusing. Harry shrugged, not understanding what Snape thought was so funny, and let the man go. Sirius seemed to have relaxed a little after the verbal confrontation with Snape, as if the familiar event had put him at ease.

The sound of the floo activating caught Harry's attention and when he turned to see who it was he was surprised to see Daniel Greengrass walking in with Daphne right behind him. Harry went to meet them but as soon as Daphne saw him she ran to her boyfriend and pulled him into a worried hug. Daniel, meanwhile, went to join the ongoing conversation between Moody and Shacklebolt.

"I'm glad you're here." Harry said quietly as he held her. "Are you going, too?"

"No, dad doesn't want me to." Daphne replied. "He wants me to stay behind and get things ready for if any injured people get brought back here. I told him I'd rather be there with you, but he wouldn't budge."

"They're only letting me go because they need my Patronus." Harry commented. "Otherwise I'm pretty sure I would be right here with you."

"It's stupid." Daphne said, a little angrily. "I've faced the Dementors twice already, that should be enough to prove that I could be useful."

"I know." Harry replied. "But we never would have been able to get this much help if it wasn't an official Order of the Phoenix mission. I think everyone is still a little bit shocked that this is actually going to happen. According to Sirius things like this almost never happened during the first war, especially after Dumbledore heard the prophecy."

"It'll work, Harry. And you're going to do fine." Daphne assured him. "You just promise me that you'll make it back here in one piece."

"I'll try my best." Harry said. Daphne sighed, knowing that she could not reasonably expect anything more than that. Harry sensed her uneasiness and leaned in to place a comforting kiss on her lips. When it ended Harry saw that Daphne was smiling, hopefully a sign that his idea had worked. Their moment was interrupted, however, when Harry heard someone loudly clearing their throat behind him. When he turned he saw that it was Professor Dumbledore who was eager to talk to him.

"Good morning, Harry. And to you Ms Greengrass." Dumbledore said quite cheerfully considering the time and what they were about to do. "I was wondering if I might be able to speak to you."

"Certainly, Professor." Harry answered. "I'm sure you won't mind if Daphne stays, will you?" Dumbledore frowned a bit at this, but did not fight it.

"Of course." Dumbledore replied. "I would like you to reconsider participating in the morning's activities. The Dementors are dangerous at normal times, I am unsure how they will react when their very existence is being threatened."

"You need me, Professor." Harry responded. "Even Moody and Shacklebolt know that. I can help make the world a safer place, and that is something I would gladly do even if there is danger involved."

"You are a brave young man, Harry, with a noble and mature personality." Dumbledore said with a smile. "I only wish you would give greater concern to your own safety and to the lengths that others would go to ensure it. Protecting you is perhaps the most important role the Order of the Phoenix has. If we fail in that then we have perhaps failed in everything else as well."

"I don't believe that." Harry replied. "I've thought about the prophecy a lot since I heard it, and I don't think that it means I am the only one capable of beating him."

"Perhaps not." Dumbledore allowed, "But that does not change the fact that your safety is paramount. I will not stop you from coming because, as you have pointed out, your participation will make our efforts much more likely to succeed. I only ask that you not take any unnecessary risks."

"I'll try." Harry promised.

"Good." Dumbledore said with a nod. "Now, I believe Professor Moody is going to give a briefing before we leave. You should not miss it." With that Dumbledore walked to the kitchen where everyone was gathered. Harry grasped Daphne's hand and together they followed him in. At one end of the kitchen Mad Eye Moody was attempting to get everyone to quiet down so he could speak. Eventually they did and Moody began his speech.

"Alright. Now that we're all here let's get down to business." the old Auror began. "Our target tonight is Azkaban, but more specifically the Dementors that live there. As you all may know there are anti-portkey and anti-apparition wards that extend for more than a mile in all directions around the island. We will be apparating to a point outside the wards and traveling by broom to the island itself. For those of you who don't have a broom of your own, we have spares. Once we reach the island we will break off into four teams, each consisting of one wizard able to cast a Patronus powerful enough to kill a Dementor and a couple of others to back them up and try to keep the Dementors on the island. The defenses of Azkaban are powerful, but they were designed to keep prisoners in and any who would wish to free them out. Neither of those apply to us and so you will find that the Dementors will be quite open to attack. Any questions so far?"

"Who are the four?" Amos Diggory asked from the back of the room.

"Me, Kingsley, Albus, and Potter." Moody answered. The last name caused some brief surprise amongst many members of the order. My group will come in from the north, Kingsley's to the east, Albus's from the South, and Potter's from the west. You're free to join whatever group you want, as long as they end up being equal in size. We will need the rest of you to use your Patronuses to contain the Dementors while we attempt to kill them."

"What about the guards stationed at Azkaban?" Tonks asked. "I know some of them, they're not bad blokes."

"They shouldn't be harmed by the Patronuses. You are all to remember not to engage the guards in battle unless they attack first, which I don't think they'll do. With luck, we should be out of Azkaban twenty minutes after we get there." Moody explained. He then reached into his coat and pulled out a bag which he threw onto the table. As it landed it came open and few chocolate bars from Honeyduke's fell out. "It's chocolate. Everyone needs to eat one as soon as we get to Azkaban. Keep a few on you for if you feel like you need it. I'd also recommend eating one once we get back. Well, that's it. Anybody else got something they want to say?"

No one did. Some of the assembled group began to look around as if suddenly realizing that this was really going to happen. Most of them were ready and eager to begin, but a few were clearly not feeling as brave.

"We leave in five minutes. Be ready." Moody said gruffly as he finished the meeting. The small crowd began to disperse at that point, including Harry and Daphne who made their way to the closet where Harry kept his Firebolt. He smiled knowing that he would have the fastest broom of anyone that night. Daphne said very little over the next few minutes, but it was clear that she was both worried about Harry and upset she could not also go. Soon, the time to leave approached and so they walked to the living room where most of the Order was waiting. Sirius was standing next to Daniel Greengrass, Tonks, and Hestia Jones and waved Harry over.

"Harry, we'll all be accompanying you tonight." Sirius informed him. "Is that ok with you?"

"Sounds good." Harry answered. He looked around the room and saw that the other groups had similarly been formed.

"You two better take care of each other." Daphne demanded as she looked back and forth from Harry to her father. "I mean it."

"Harry, you'll find that my daughter often has stubborn and demanding tendencies." Daniel said, smiling. Harry, however, was smart enough to agree with him.

"I wouldn't change a thing about her." Harry said, earning a smile from Daphne and a laugh from everyone else.

"Listen up!" Moody yelled from the front of the room. "We leave in thirty seconds. At least one person in your group should have the apparition coordinates, just side along apparate with them. Good luck, and good hunting!" Shouts of agreement and nervous laughter met Moody's announcement. Daphne, knowing it was time for them to go, reluctantly let go of Harry's hand as the rest of them made sure they were touching another member of the group. The last thing Daphne saw before the disappeared was Harry waving at her. Then the house was eerily quiet and empty. It made her feel a bit sad, but then she remembered she had work to do and got started on it.

* * *

When they arrived Harry found that they were on another, smaller island not far from Azkaban. The impressive prison fortress was easily visible in the moonlight and Harry was briefly glad that their objective was not to invade Azkaban.

"Stay together until we reach the island!" Moody shouted as he mounted his broom and took off with a grace that Harry did not expect. Despite the man's difficulty walking he could still move like a bird in the air. Harry obediently lifted off the ground on his Firebolt with the rest of his group near him. Once in the air they flew at a steady pace through the clear and cool night air, making sure that all those with slower brooms would have no trouble keeping up. As the minutes passed Azkaban drew nearer and for the first time Harry could see it clearly. A layer of fog seemed to the island, though there was no fog to bee seen anywhere else. The closer they got, the lower the temperature seemed to drop. The warm July night had quickly turned into one that felt like it belonged in late fall. Looking to his left, Harry could see that Sirius was very unhappy about returning to the prison where he had been wrongly kept for all those years. He did not look scared however, just angry.

Soon the groups were close enough to the island to begin splitting up to head for their assigned sides. Harry's group approached the west side of the island and landed quietly. All four of them began to look around for any sign of trouble, but it was clear that they had not been spotted yet.

"Chocolate everyone." Daniel Greengrass commented as he pulled out a bar from his pocket. The others soon followed suit and though Harry had not thought that the Dementors were having an effect on him already he immediately felt a little better. The sheer number of Dementors present on the island meant that their impact could be felt from much further distances.

"We wait for Moody to send up a flare, that is our signal to begin." Hestia Jones said as she held her wand out ready to cast. Harry did not know the woman very well, but she seemed to be confident in her abilities. Realizing that the time to act was drawing near, Harry began to concentrate in preparation of casting his Patronus. This mission was important and he was eager to prove that he deserved a place on the battlefield next to anyone in the Order of the Phoenix.

A bright red jet of light streaked into the air from the north, and a moment later the night sky was suddenly illuminated from the glow of over a dozen Patronuses. Harry's stag raced towards the prison as if it already knew what role it was supposed to play. It passed through the walls as if they were not even there and Harry was forced to adjust to not being able to see his Patronus. Through the magic he could still feel the link between them and instinctually knew when he needed to supply more power and when he needed to focus more. Moments later he felt a small drain in power from the magical creature and knew it had just killed its first Dementor of the night.

Suddenly shouts could be heard from inside the prison as its guards realized something out of the ordinary was going on. Lights turned on all over the island and several guards ran outside to see what was happening. Thankfully they realized they were outnumbered and made no move to stop the Order of the Phoenix. The Dementors meanwhile had continued to fall at a steady pace, but with only four Patronuses capable of destroying them and over one hundred Dementors it was clear the process was going to take some time. After only a few minutes the Dementors seemed to all realize at once that the battle was lost and attempted to escape the island. The evil creatures poured out of every exit in the castle until the night sky was darkened by their presence. Knowing that their part of the fight had arrived, the rest of the Order began attempting to contain the escaping Dementors. They were soon trapped between the out ring of Patronuses and the four more powerful Patronuses behind them. In the initial moments a few Dementors were able to successfully flee the island, but as their numbers continued to drop it became easier for the Order to prevent them from escaping.

Sweat poured off of Harry's head as he continued to pump as much of his strength into his Patronus as he could. As he watched Prongs tear into another Dementor he smiled in pride at how well the ambush had gone so far. Ten minutes after the battle began there were fewer than fifty Dementors left on the island, and their numbers were dropping constantly. Harry guessed that it would take less than five minutes to destroy the rest.

"INCOMING!" Harry heard a voice shout, but he did not dare turn away from his task to look at what was approaching them. The others though turned and saw a group of wizards in dark robes flying on brooms towards them, although they were still far away. They were coming in from the south, which meant that they would run into the group led by Professor Dumbledore first.

"Damn, Death Eaters!" Sirius yelled. "Probably still three or four minutes away. Do you think we'll be done by then?"

"It'll be close." Daniel replied. "A guard must have contacted them somehow."

"How many?" Hestia wondered aloud.

"I can't tell. Maybe a dozen." Sirius answered. "But I have the feeling Voldemort will be with them."

"At least we've got Dumbledore here." Hestia replied nervously.

"Harry, can you cast and fly at the same time?" Daniel asked as he glanced back and forth between the dying Dementors and the approaching Death Eaters.

"I can try." Harry answered uncertainly.

"We should regroup around Dumbledore, we don't want to let them isolate us and that's where the others will be headed." Daniel explained. "You just focus on casting, we'll ride right beside you and help guide your broom." Harry nodded and hopped back on his Firebolt as the others mounted their brooms as well. With Sirius on one side and Daniel on the other Harry was able to fly towards Dumbledore's group and continue the assault on the few remaining Dementors without a problem. By the time he arrived there were fewer than ten Dementors left. As the last ones fell Harry finally ended his spell and attempted to rest for a moment before the next fight began.

"What do you want to do, Albus? We might be able to make it out of here before they reach us." Moody said as he landed next to Dumbledore. He took the time to look around at their group which was unharmed from the attack on the Dementors but most were a little tired. Snape had fled, apparently in accordance with Dumbledore's instructions, when the Death Eaters were first spotted. That still left them with a group capable of repelling most attacks though.

"No, old friend. That is not an option." Dumbledore answered sadly. "They all appear to have the fastest brooms available and could pick those of us on slower brooms off one by one. We must drive them off before we can make our escape."

"Fine by me!" Moody replied with a grin on his face. The others heard the conversation and understood what it meant for them. Mundungus Fletcher, one of the less reliable members of the Order, decided that he had had enough of the fight and hopped onto his broom and flew off in the opposite direction of the Death Eaters leaving the rest behind. Since he was alone the Death Eaters probably would not even attempt to chase him down, but it left the Order with one less wand to use.

Moments later the group of Death Eaters, led by Lord Voldemort, landed on the island about one hundred feet from the Order of the Phoenix. As they followed their master as he walked towards their sworn enemies they made no attempt to attack them. Soon the distance between them had been halved and both groups could see who they were facing. Voldemort had brought with him Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Barty Crouch Junior, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, and Gabriel Greengrass.

"You're outnumbered, Tom." Dumbledore said calmly. "It would be foolish to attack us now."

"And you're outclassed, Dumbledore." Voldemort replied. "Tonight you and your pathetic Order will pay a heavy price for the minor victory you achieved before we arrived. As for being outnumbered, perhaps you should think again. I've always known that I would eventually have to overtake Azkaban, do you really think I did not plan ahead for that day? You have fallen in to a trap nearly thirty years in the making. Tell me Dumbledore, do you know what Azkaban does with their dead? I do."

Before anyone could respond Voldemort cast a spell aimed at the water around the lake. For a moment nothing happened, but then the first corpse pulled itself up onto dry land. Soon Inferi were climbing out of the water all around them. Every dead body that had been thrown into the sea for the last thirty years had been caught in a spell that Voldemort had cast which turned them into his mindless slaves, and now he was calling on them. In all there were about seventy five of them and although they could not do magic it did tip the scales in Voldemort's favor.

"Flame spells!" Moody yelled, instructing the others on what to do. A moment later the calm that had existed shattered and the battle began in earnest. As the rest of the Order began casting spells which hurled fire at the inferi Dumbledore concentrated on shielding them from the attacks of the Death Eaters. For a moment the plan was successful, mostly because Voldemort had not yet entered the battle but instead stood by laughing at the spectacle before him. But as his inferi started being pushed back into the sea he realized it was time for him to make his presence felt. The Dark Lord began with something simple to get Dumbledore's attention: an Avada Kedavra aimed at his head.

Dumbledore was easily able to conjure a stone wall to block the curse, but he knew that he would no longer be able to shield his allies from the Death Eaters. With that the two most powerful wizards in all of Europe, perhaps in the world, began to duel. Harry, like many others on both sides, momentarily lost his focus as he watched the two do battle. Voldemort had levitated dozens of large rocks from off the ground and began hurling them in rapid succession at Dumbledore. The Professor, however, was not harmed and instead used the boulders to form a massive golem that he animated and commanded to attack. The golem was able to crush several inferi before being blasted apart by one of Voldemort's spells. A blast of energy from Dumbledore sent Voldemort flying backwards, but the Dark Lord was much too powerful to be defeated by a move like that and was able to stop his brief flight and hover in midair. As the battle raged on between them neither man appeared to be gaining a clear advantage over the other. The rest of the combatants, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, slowly moved away from Dumbledore and Voldemort as they continued their fights.

The inferi were rapidly falling to the combined efforts of Mad Eye Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Moody was using all of his power to create a whirlwind that he sent spinning through the ranks of the inferi. As he did this, Kingsley poured his efforts into sending flames at the tornado. Normally the flames would have been blown out by the wind but the experienced Aurors were able to combine their spells and create a whirlwind of fire that sucked the inferi towards it and then spit them out in a ball of fire. Together they managed to destroy more than half of the inferi before they were interrupted by attacks from the Carrows.

Harry, meanwhile, was being shielded from the Death Eaters by Daniel and Sirius so that he could focus on attacking the inferi. Luckily for him the inferi were not fast or able to defend themselves from his well aimed Incendio's. The inferii were simply a distraction, something they all realized, but they could not be ignored. Finally all of the inferi around them had been burnt or driven back into the sea and Harry was able to rejoin the battle against the Death Eaters. He happily took over the task of dueling Barty Crouch Junior from Daniel, leaving him to focus on his brother Gabriel alone while Sirius yet again battled Bellatrix.

"You're a fool, Daniel!" Gabriel Greengrass yelled between spells. He looked much like his older brother, but the time in Azkaban had left him thin and with long greying hair. "What would father think?"

"Don't you dare mention him!" Daniel roared as he cast what would be considered by most to be a dark spell which conjured a magical band of energy around his brother's neck that began to constrict, cutting off his flow of air. Gabriel would have died if it were not for Bellatrix noticing the curse and casting the counter to it on her fellow Death Eater. "I know it was you, Gabriel! I know what you did to earn that Dark Mark!"

"Father was a fool not to join the Dark Lord!" Gabriel countered. "He deserved to die!" Throughout the brief conversation the two had not slowed in casting spells at each other, but Gabriel's admission that he had killed their father enraged Daniel and he ceased caring what anyone might think of the spells he was using.

"Crucio!" Daniel yelled. Gabriel was caught of guard by his brother's spell and unable to avoid it. He immediately fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Harry looked at Daniel in shock that he had used an Unforgivable, but other than him or Sirius no one else seemed to have noticed. Eventually Daniel was forced to release the spell to block an attack from Bellatrix, allowing Gabriel to roll away and seek shelter behind a boulder as he regrouped.

Harry was beating Barty Crouch Junior, and they both knew it. This time around Barty had not managed to land a single spell on Harry and was beginning to seriously consider retreating in order to save his own hide, like he had done the last time he faced Harry. A high-powered Reducto had forced Barty to produce a shield which rapidly drained his magical reserves and he knew that the fight would be over for him soon unless he escaped. And so he turned and ran, leaving Bellatrix to face Sirius and Daniel alone. Harry, unwilling to let Barty escape again, jumped onto his Firebolt and soared towards him. No man is fast enough to out run a Firebolt, and so within seconds Harry was only feet away from Barty. He conjured a whip made of flame from the tip of his wand and swung it with all of his strength towards the fleeing man. As the spell hit Barty in the neck even Harry was surprised by the power behind the spell. It did not knock Barty to ground. Instead the force of the fire whip combined with the speed at which Harry was travelling on his broom enabled the magical energy to slice cleanly through the man's neck, decapitating him. The momentum caused the rest of his body to run a few more steps before crashing down to the ground. Harry stopped flying and hovered in the air above Barty's body, still quite surprised by what had happened. He did not realize in that moment how vulnerable his position was.

Voldemort had seen Harry chase down Barty, and when he stopped to observe the damage Voldemort knew he had a chance to strike at the Boy-Who-Lived. It would have been so easy to kill him, but Voldemort knew he needed the boy alive if he hoped to regain his former strength. He knew however, what he thought was the perfect spell to use in the situation. The spell that erupted from his wand was a swirling ball of yellow and purple light. The moment Dumbledore saw it he also knew that he would not be able to prevent it from hitting Harry. Harry turned to leave just in time to see it soaring towards him, but could not move in time to avoid it. As the spell hit him Harry fell to the ground though he was unconscious before he hit it. The battle continued to rage around him and though eventually the Order of the Phoenix would be able to drive off the Death Eaters, Harry was not aware of it.

* * *

Author's Note:

Yay Barty is finally dead, but Harry was stupid in how he did it and will have to pay the price. What evil will Voldemort's spell do? You'll just have to keep reading.

Thanks again for the input, most of you seem to think I have done a decent job balancing action and plot. And for a question I have gotten a few times, yes this will be going into the next school year but there are a couple of things that are still going to happen before that.


	34. Chapter 34

"Someone get Pomfrey here!" Sirius yelled as he apparated back into 12 Grimmauld Place, carrying Harry's unconscious form in his arms. The others were apparating in as well now that the battle was over. For the most part it had been a success, but it had not come without cost. Emmaline Vance had been struck down with the Avada Kedavra curse by Lucius Malfoy and other had been injured. Amos Diggory even lost a hand to a cutting curse from Rodolphus Lestrange. Harry's condition was the only one that was uncertain however, and repeated attempts to Enneverate him had proved that the spell Voldemort used was more powerful than a simple stunning spell.

"What happened to him!" Daphne screamed when she saw Harry not moving. "He's going to be ok, right? He isn't... dead, is he?" Daniel Greengrass, who had apparated back just in time to see Daphne's reaction, pulled his worried daughter into a tight hug.

"He's not dead. See, he's still breathing." Daniel assured her. "We'll figure out what happened to him, and we'll fix it."

"Did you recognize the curse that hit him?" Sirius asked as he placed Harry on a cot that Daphne had set up for wounded Order members. "I didn't."

"No. The Dark Lord could have simply killed Harry if he wanted to, but he didn't." Daniel replied. "So this spell either isn't fatal, or it's designed to make Harry suffer before he dies."

"How can you say that so casually?" Sirius said angrily.

"It's the truth and you know it." Daniel retorted. "I like Harry and I want to see him get better. But lying to ourselves about his condition won't help."

Daphne, meanwhile, was only vaguely aware of the conversation taking place next to her. She had pulled up a chair next to Harry's cot and was holding his hand and worrying about him. To her, admittedly untrained, eyes he looked like he was simply asleep. He was perhaps a little paler than usual, but aside from that there was no sign of injury.

"Wake up, Harry." she whispered into his ear, hoping that he would be able to hear her. "I know you're in there." Harry did not respond, causing Daphne to frown. She hadn't expected him to, but she had hoped. She sat by his side until nearly a half hour later when Madame Pomfrey, looking as if she had just been woken up, stepped through the floo with Professor Dumbledore and asked her to move so she could examine Harry. Daphne nodded and complied with the request but did not leave the room, nor did Sirius or Dumbledore. They all silently watched as she cast a wide variety of diagnostic charms on Harry. Finally she stopped working and simply stood over the cot looking at Harry with a confused expression on her face.

"Well, Poppy? What have you learned?" Dumbledore asked. Pomfrey turned to the Professor and shrugged slightly in disappointment.

"Physically speaking, he's fine." Pomfrey began. "Whatever that spell did, it doesn't appear to have hurt his body in any way. He seems to have used quite a bit of magic tonight, but did not reach the point of magical exhaustion. His magical power level has gone up quite a bit since the last time we checked at the end of the school year, either due to him maturing or his specialized training. There is, however, a small but consistent drain on his magic taking place. It's as if he were attempting to use his magic to do something, perhaps heal himself."

"Can you confirm that is indeed the case?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't believe so. Honestly it could be anything, but whatever is happening is quite weak. Perhaps it's nothing to worry about." Pomfrey replied. "I also ran a scan on his brain which confirmed it was still active. The results, however, were not consistent with sleep or even a coma. This is something else entirely."

"Will he wake up?" Sirius asked nervously. For not the first time he felt as if he had failed James and Lily who had trusted him to watch after their son.

"I don't know." Pomfrey said sadly. "It would help if we could identify the spell used on him. Any ideas, Albus?"

"Unfortunately, no." Dumbledore answered. "It is unlike any spell I have seen Voldemort use in the past. It could be one of his own creation, or a spell he found in his extensive Dark Arts library. I must admit that even I do not have access to as much information on the subject as he does."

"The Blacks have books Hogwarts doesn't." Sirius pointed out. "We could start looking there."

"The Greengrasses do as well." Daniel said. "Hopefully between the two of us we can identify what happened."

"And I will talk to Severus, perhaps he has learned something." Dumbledore replied.

"You mean besides how to run from a fight?" Sirius scowled.

"Sirius, he did so on my instructions." Dumbledore responded. "He is far more important to the Order as a spy than as a soldier. Forcing him to openly fight the Death Eaters would only put him in a more precarious position, which would not help us or Harry. I will return when I know more."

"Dumbledore, we should consider moving Harry to St Mungo's." Pomfrey suggested. "I can't be here to watch him constantly like they could, and there is always the chance they know something I don't."

"Doubtful." Dumbledore answered with a small smile. "No, that is out of the question. Harry must stay here."

"Why?" Sirius asked "I want him here as much as anyone, but if they can help Harry he needs to be there."

"Harry is a symbol to the wizarding world and for the opposition to Voldemort." Dumbledore explained. "If they see that he is injured it would be a serious blow to morale, which is quite unneeded at the moment. Besides, there is no healer in all of England more skilled than Poppy. And we have access to all of the resources St Mungo's does. If there is a cure for what has happened to Harry we will find it."

"Fine." Sirius said. "Can I move him to his room now?"

"Yes, that will be fine." Pomfrey answered. "Please call me if he wakes up. If not I will be along later today to check on him." Madame Pomfrey gave Harry one last look over before heading back through the floo. Dumbledore followed her a short time later, explaining that he was going to research the spell Voldemort had used. Daniel and Daphne accompanied Sirius when he carried Harry back to his room and carefully placed him back in bed. It was hard to believe that only a few short hours ago he was waking Harry up to go on the mission. Perhaps, Sirius thought, he had been wrong to do so. But Harry would never just sit back and do nothing if given the chance.

"It's not your fault." Daniel said, understanding what Sirius was thinking.

"You don't know what it's like. I failed him." Sirius answered sadly.

"I do know what it's like, believe me." Daniel replied. "Years ago I had a son. There was an accident and he died. Do you really think I didn't blame myself for not being there? For not being able to do something to prevent it? Well I did. In the end though you are going to have to accept that this was what he wanted. His choice. You did your best to protect him, I know that because I was there. But best of all, Harry isn't dead. You can still help him." Sirius nodded as he thought about what the other man had said. He was right to point out that he could still help Harry. Perhaps he wouldn't disappoint James and Lily after all.

"Can I stay?" Daphne asked quietly.

"You've been up all night. You need rest." Daniel answered. "If it's ok with Sirius, you can come back in a few hours."

"I'll take care of him Daphne, don't worry." Sirius assured her. Daphne nodded and placed one last kiss on Harry's forehead before she and her father made their way out of the house. Sirius didn't bother seeing them out but instead sat down in a chair in Harry's room so he could be there if anything changed. After a few minutes of watching his godson Sirius began to feel the effects of not having slept the night before and drifted off to sleep where he sat.

* * *

Two days later Harry's condition had not changed. Madame Pomfrey had stopped by each day to ensure that Harry was not getting any worse. Despite her best efforts she had not found anything to help him. Neither had anyone been able to determine what spell Voldemort had used even after days of research on the parts of Dumbledore, Sirius, and Daniel. Cures for various sleeping spells had been attempted, but none had been successful. As a result they knew as little two days later as they did when they first got Harry back to headquarters. Research continued, but their hopes were beginning to decline.

Daphne, meanwhile, had been come back to sit with Harry as she had asked. That lasted several hours before she realized that her time would be better spent helping the others look for a cure than simply sitting at his side. The Black library was huge, even larger than that of her own family, and Sirius was in obvious need of help going through it looking for clues. By the end of her first day in the library Daphne knew she was going to need additional help and called in Hermione and Neville who eagerly agreed to do anything they could. The Longbottoms also had an extensive library, but it did not contain nearly as much information on dark curses as the others.

"What if it isn't here?" Neville sighed as he set down yet another useless book. "Maybe You-Know-Who made the spell up himself."

"It shouldn't matter." Hermione answered, "We know the effects of the curse so if we can find something similar we can use the counters for that as a starting point. It might take some variation, but we should still be able to find the answer."

"But that's the problem," Daphne said, "We don't really know what the curse is doing. Sure, we know it's put Harry into some kind of magical sleep but Madame Pomfrey said something else is also going on and she doesn't know what it is."

"I have an idea..." Hermione said thoughtfully. "I know a healer that could help us. I've heard that there's no one better than her at repairing physical damage."

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't someone from St Mungos." Daphne said. "She not from our world, is she?"

"No." Hermione answered. She was still unsure of how her friends would react to the abilities she had gained at the end of the last year. What they did not know was that Hermione had spent much of her time this summer experimenting with it. She still felt ashamed of how she had gone about everything though, and for that reason had not wanted to remind the others of it. But now, finally, she saw a chance for her to use the results of her mistake for a good purpose.

"Pomfrey should be leaving soon." Daphne said, looking towards the part of the house where she knew Harry's room was. "You could try it then. Do you want to tell Sirius what's going on?"

"I'd rather not." Hermione answered nervously. "I asked Harry to keep this ability a secret and I don't think he's told Sirius yet."

"Fine. We'll have to distract him somehow." Daphne said. "Do you really think it will help?"

"It can't hurt." Hermione replied. Daphne nodded in agreement and went back to looking at the book she had in front of her. After long hours of searching frustration was beginning to set in and Daphne was beginning to feel that she and others were getting desparate. Nothing they did seemed to have any effect on Harry's condition. She slammed her book closed and pushed it away from her. The others looked up at her briefly, understanding how she felt, but soon went back to what they were doing. After a few minutes rest she pulled the book back towards her and tried to find the place where she had left off.

A half hour later Madame Pomfrey finally left after sadly telling Harry's friends that there had been no change in his condition. They knew Sirius would be sitting in Harry's room watching him, as he had been for most of the morning. Dumbledore was supposed to stop by later so they knew this was their chance to get to Harry alone. The three of them walked down the hallway to Harry's room and when they looked inside they found Sirius, as they expected him to be, sitting down staring at his godson. Dark circles were under his eyes, evidence that he had barely slept since the night of the attack on Azkaban. Hermione thought that he was beginning to look more and more like the man she had met at the end of her third year, before his life became more comfortable and he was able to truly begin recovering.

"Sirius, you need to rest. And get something to eat." Daphne said. "You look awful."

"I know." Sirius answered. "I'll just stay a little while longer, though."

"No Sirius." Hermione replied. "Harry is going to be mad at us when he wakes up and sees we let his godfather worry himself to death."

"I can't be that bad." Sirius said proudly. But then his stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had not actually eaten anything that day. "Fine, perhaps a snack. And a little nap."

"We'll stay with him." Daphne assured him. "Promise."

"Come find me if anything changes." Sirius said as he stood and approached the door. All three of them nodded in agreement and Sirius walked out the door with one last look back at his godson. When he was gone Neville closed the door and looked back at the two witches in front of him.

"So how do you do this?" Neville asked. "Do you need help?"

"No, but a little space would be nice." Hermione said. "It's not difficult to do, but it does take my full concentration." Daphne and Neville backed up so that they could watch. Neither of them had seen this before and they were both very curious about it. Hermione closed her eyes and stood completely still for a moment before beginning to wave her arms in an intricate manner and chanting something so softly that neither Daphne nor Neville could make it out. Daphne did notice the thin silver bracelets that had been placed on Hermione's wrists at the end of the ritual were still there, and had begun to glow. About five seconds after she started the summoning spell a small ball of energy began to form in front of her. Ten seconds in it began to grow and by the time Hermione stopped chanting and waving her arms a few seconds later it was a large glowing disk.

Neville gasped when he saw the figure who exited the portal. Although her body was shaped much like a human's, her skin was a dark purple and her eyes were at least twice that of a human's. She stepped out and looked around as if ready for a fight, though she relaxed slightly when she saw that none was coming.

"You called, gatekeeper?" the woman asked Hermione.

"Yes." Hermione answered confidently. Daphne was surprised by her tone which did not show any evidence of doubt or weakness. "My friend was hit by an unknown spell. Can you heal him?" The woman looked at Harry walked towards him. She held her hand a few inches over his body and began waving her hands all over him.

"Interesting..." she said quietly. A ball of light formed on the palm of her hand and she gently placed it on Harry's head where it seemed to be absorbed by him. "Very curious, indeed."

"Answer me then." Hermione demanded. "Can you help him?"

"No, child, I can not." she answered with a look of disappointment. "His wounds are not truly physical, but mental. The magic is turning his mind against itself, making him in essence a prisoner of his own mind. Unless the process reverses his mind will destroy itself, leaving him merely a shell of a person. It is possible that, in time, he will overcome it by himself but there is nothing I can do. I am sorry, gatekeeper."

"I release you." Hermione said, the disappointment evident in her voice. The woman nodded stepped back through the portal which closed behind her and then vanished completely. Hermione sat down on a chair to think about what had happened while the others were more focused on what they had seen. "It was a waste of time, I think. I've heard Pomfrey talking to Sirius and Dumbledore, she reached basically the same assumption. This just confirms it."

"But he's still in there, right?" Neville asked uncertainly. "Can we just, you know, pull him out somehow?"

"You'd need a master Legilimens to even have a chance at doing that." Daphne answered, but from the looks she received it was clear neither Hermione nor Neville understood what she meant. "Legilimency? It's the ability to read thoughts from a person's mind, although it can be used for other purposes as well."

"Of course!" Hermione said. "I've heard of Occlumency, that must be the defense against Legilimency."

"Exactly." Daphne confirmed. "But I don't know anyone trained in Legilimency. Maybe Dumbledore is."

"Reading someone's thoughts without permission seems like a rather dark art." Hermione said. "Would Dumbledore really do that?"

"Officially it isn't considered a dark art." Daphne explained. "But it is almost impossible to find anyone willing to teach you how to do it."

"What about your dad?" Neville asked.

"He's an Occlumens, but not a Legilimens." Daphne replied. "Doesn't help us much."

"So what now?" Neville wondered.

"Back to the library, I guess." Hermione answered with shrug. None of them really wanted to do that, but it did seem to be their best option. And so they returned to their research, though they would not find anything useful that day.

* * *

"Do you really think this could help him?" Sirius asked as he turned to face Dumbledore. They, along with Professor Snape, were standing in Harry's room discussing how to help him. While Sirius and Dumbledore talked, Snape stood near the door looking bored and uninterested.

"Severus has not been able to learn the true nature of the spell used, and neither have we." Dumbledore explained. "Poppy has confirmed that his mind is still active, so there is hope that I can begin to repair the damage that has been caused. Or, at the very least, confirm that Harry's consciousness is still there."

"Is it safe?" Sirius asked worriedly.

"Safer than doing nothing, I would think." Dumbledore replied. "Try not to worry, Sirius. This could be a long process, and I do not expect any significant changes tonight."

"Fine." Sirius said. "But why is he here?" Sirius motioned towards Snape, who shook his head in annoyance at the question.

"I may need his help." Dumbledore explained. "I know you two are not the best of friends, but Severus is one of the few people in the world capable of assisting me in this if necessary. Shall I begin?"

Sirius let out a frustrated sigh before nodding for Dumbledore to start. Dumbledore smiled at his former student before turning back to Harry. Placing his wand on Harry's forehead, the old wizard whispered "Legilimens" and began searching through Harry's mind. A strange mix of memories began to appear in no clear order: Harry studying in the library at Hogwarts, a younger Harry running from his cousin Dudley, Harry riding the cart in Gringott's, Ron and Hermione arguing about something during first year, Uncle Vernon throwing Harry into the cupboard under the stairs when he was five or six, Professor Lockhart vanishing the bones in his arm during second year, Harry and Daphne talking about the Mirror of Erised in first year, and so on. The images kept coming and coming without any sign of slowing down.

Underneath the memories, Dumbledore could feel a sense of panic and confusion coming from Harry. The boy had apparently been trapped in this state for days and it was taking its toll on him. Dumbledore thought about the situation for a moment before deciding that there was something he could do to help Harry. He would try to suppress the memories and bring Harry's consciousness to the forefront. A difficult task, to be sure, but still possible.

He started by willing Harry's mind to slow down and quiet the constant barrage of memories he was facing. Somewhere in there Harry was also trying to do this so it did not present a major challenge for him. Soon Harry's mind was a more still and peaceful place. His next step was to encourage Harry to take back control of his mind, but that is where he faced problems. Something was holding Harry back, and although they both fought this force it seemed nothing they did could stop it. Dumbledore was reluctant to give up and so kept trying for more than an hour, far longer than most Leglilimens could maintain a connection, but in the end was forced to withdraw and concede defeat.

When Dumbledore's eyes opened again he was back in Harry's room. Sirius and Snape were still there, one acting very interested in what was happening and the other trying to act like he was ignoring it. He looked back at Harry whose appearance had not changed at all. Dumbledore sighed and vowed to try again once he had rested some. Then perhaps he could find out how to help Harry.

Suddenly, Harry's eyes shot open. He did not move from the bed, but his eyes began to dart to left and right as if he were trying to determine where he was.

"Harry?" Sirius asked excitedly. "Are you ok?"

Harry's eyes settled on Sirius, who he looked at with a confused expression. For a moment they stared at each other, unmoving. But then Harry began to scream. He pulled the sheet covering his body over his head before throwing himself off of the bed, all the while continuing to scream at the top of his lungs. Still clutching the sheet, Harry crawled to the nearest corner of the room where he curled up into a ball and began rocking back and forth.

"Severus! Calming draught!" Dumbledore commanded. The Potions professor nodded and reached into his robes, pulling out a small vial containing the potion. Dumbledore took it and then approached Harry who had not yet noticed him. Having no other choice, Dumbledore tried to pry the sheet away from Harry so he could administer the potion. Harry, however, was stronger than he looked and it became obvious that Dumbledore would need help. Sirius rushed over and held Harry's head up as Dumbledore poured the contents of the vial down his throat. Harry continued to fight at Sirius' hold on him and scream as the potion slowly took effect. But a few minutes later Harry quit moving and his screams turned into cries. Tears began to fall from his eyes as he sobbed, but at what no one was sure.

"Potter's finally lost it." Snape said with a laugh. "I knew this day would come."

"Shut up!" Sirius said angrily, before turning towards Dumbledore. "What happened? What did you do to him?"

"I'm not sure, Sirius." Dumbledore replied. "I did not anticipate this happening. I believe it could be a sign that his mind is fighting back though. Perhaps, this is a good thing."

Sirius looked back down at his godson who was still crying for some unknown reason. He was also beginning to mumble something that was not intelligible. Sirius shook his head, unsure if he preferred this over what Harry had been like before.

"What do we do when the calming draught wears off?" Sirius asked.

"Hopefully he will have regained his bearings somewhat by then." Dumbledore said. "If not we will continue to help him the best we can. For now, perhaps it would be best if we give him a Sleeping Draught. Severus?" Snape nodded and handed him the vial. Sirius looked at it uncertainly for a moment, unsure if that was what Harry really needed.

"You two can go. I'll give it to him in a few minutes." Sirius finally said.

"If you're certain..." Dumbledore said.

"I am." Sirius answered firmly. "You should go." Dumbledore reluctantly left the room, motioning for Snape follow. When they were gone Sirius carefully picked up his godson and placed him back on the bed. Harry's crying had stopped as the Calming Draught took full effect, but he was still whimpering and muttering something to himself. Sirius tried to decipher what was being said, but could not. He decided that the best thing he could do for Harry was to simply sit with him and try and make him comfortable. A half hour later Harry fell asleep without the use of the Sleeping Draught. Sirius, seated in the chair next to Harry's bed, was asleep soon after.

* * *

The next day Daphne stood in front of the closed door to Harry's room, bracing herself for what she knew she would find inside. Sirius had warned her that Harry's condition had changed, but though he was awake he was unlikely to recognize her and had been speaking nonsense all morning. Slowly she turned the doorknob and stepped inside the room. Harry was laying on the floor looking up at the ceiling. Every few moments his hand would dart up as if trying to grab something invisible.

"Hello, Harry." Daphne said cautiously. "How are you?" Harry looked at her for a moment but did not seem to recognize her. He then turned back towards the ceiling to continue what he had been doing.

"So many stars..." Harry said, his words slightly slurred. His hand shot forward again, only this time Harry whooped in joy as he brought his closed fist back down. He sat up and cupped his hands together as if trying to keep what was in them from escaping. Carefully, he brought his hands towards his face so that he could peak between his fingers. When he had his shoulders slumped down in disappointment and he unclenched his hands to find that nothing was there. "Huh." he said, a little confusion evident in his voice.

"Can I do anything to help you, Harry?" Daphne asked as she sat on the floor next to him. This time when Harry looked at her he began to stare at her, though still he gave no indication that he knew who she was. After a solid minute of staring at her, which Daphne happily allowed in the hoped that he would recognize her, Harry put his hand on her forehead and ran it down her face in a similar manner that someone would do when petting a dog.

"Pretty." Harry said before abruptly turning around and attempting to crawl under his bed. He was quite unsuccessful, however, because the bed was too low to the ground. In the end the only parts that he managed to get under were his arms. Daphne watched him, not knowing what to do or say. Harry, meanwhile, had pulled his arms out from under the bed and decided to try and get under it another way. Now he was laying face up with his legs up to his knees were under the bed, but he could go no further. His eyes began looking around the room randomly and eventually stopped on Daphne. For a second Harry's face was blank, giving no sign what he was thinking or feeling. But then it was as if a switch had been flipped and Harry appeared almost normal again.

"Daphne?" Harry said uncertainly.

"Yes, Harry!" Daphne answered as she scooted closer to him. "Are you ok?"

"Everything's confusing." Harry said. "I don't think I can hold on much longer..."

"We're trying to figure out how to help you." Daphne explained. "We will, I promise you." Daphne waited for a response, but the light of recognition in Harry's eyes had gone out again. Harry abruptly stood up and jumped onto the bed, apparently deciding to use it as a trampoline. Daphne, for the first time since hearing Harry had been hurt, began to smile. She now knew for a fact that Harry's mind was still intact even if it was not accessible at the moment. There was still hope that he could be returned to his normal self.

"Everything is going to be ok, Harry." Daphne promised. Harry didn't even bother to look at her this time, but that didn't dampen her improved mood. Still smiling, Daphne left the room to tell the others what had happened and to keep looking for a cure.


	35. Chapter 35

The floo in 12 Grimmauld Place roared to life with bright green flames. Moments later Neville Longbottom excitedly came tumbling through, dropping the book he was holding in the process. He quickly picked the book back up and began looking around for a sign that anyone was home. Daphne and Hermione, who had been alerted that someone was using the floo, walked in from the kitchen to see Neville rushing towards them.

"I think I found it!" he said as he held the book out towards the two girls. "Here!"

"Neville, settle down for a second." Daphne said. "Where'd this book come from?"

"It was in my library at home." Neville said, a little more calmly this time. "We weren't finding anything helpful here, so I thought it couldn't hurt to start looking around there. That's when I remembered there was a locked chest full of books Gran always told me I was not allowed to open. I figured it must be because they were either really valuable or because they were dark."

"Which was it?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Both, I guess." Neville answered. "Some of them I had seen here too, but not this one. I marked the page, tell me if you think it's what is wrong with Harry." Hermione and Daphne stood side by side, holding the heavy book between them. For the next few minutes they read silently, each hoping that the pages in front of them would hold the key to healing Harry.

"Maybe..." Hermione was the first to say as she gave the book to Daphne and sat down to think. "It does sound very similar..."

"I think Neville was right." Daphne said. "This is it. The spell Voldemort used was Loki's Wrath, or some variation of it." The spell that they had found was well over a thousand years old and the instructions on how to cast it were said to have been lost. Still, Neville's book was able to describe its effects which matched what Harry was going through perfectly. The biggest clue was Harry's sudden change from unconscious to somewhat mad and confused. This, the book warned, was to be expected if the mind of the effected was tampered with.

"We still have a problem though." Hermione said, interrupting the silence.

"Yeah, the cure. It's impossible." Neville replied.

"No it isn't." Daphne said angrily. "We'll find a way."

"Ok, let's think about this calmly." Hermione said. "The counter spell can only be cast by two people. First, the person who cast it..."

"And I don't think Voldemort is going to be offering to help us out any time soon." Daphne commented.

"And second, the person who was affected by the spell." Hermione continued. "It has to be Harry then."

"Can he do that?" Neville wondered.

"Not in his current condition." Daphne said, shaking her head. "There has to be something else."

"I think there is." Hermione explained. "In the first part it said that 'those who have mastered their own mind have nothing to fear from Loki's Wrath'. Do you think that might be a reference to Occlumecy?" Daphne's eyes shot open in realization; she had not considered that.

"It might." she agreed. "But Harry doesn't know Occlumency, and I'm not sure he is in the right state of mind to start learning now."

"No, I guess not." Hermione replied, the disappointment obvious in her tone. "When Harry was able to fight off the effects of the spell, how long would you say that lasted?"

"Less than ten seconds, in fact probably closer to five." Daphne answered. "That's not enough time to teach him the spell even assuming we were right there the next time it happened."

"So what now?" Neville asked.

"We've got to show this to the others." Hermione replied pointing to the book. "Maybe one of them has heard of it, or could at least find information on it. It's the best chance we've got."

"She's right." Daphne agreed. "Let's go." Daphne led the others out of the room and into Harry's where Madam Pomfrey was examining him. Thankfully, Harry was asleep and not rambling incoherently as he now did when awake. Pomfrey motioned for the three teenagers to be quiet as they walked in, which they all obediently did. When the nurse was done with her exam she turned to the others who she knew were eagerly awaiting news.

"I've given him something to help him sleep." Pomfrey explained, "But otherwise nothing has changed today. I wish I could do more."

"Neville found something." Daphne said. "We think it's the spell Voldemort used." Madam Pomfrey looked shocked but still took the book that was being offered to her and began to read. She could not deny that the description she found there was nearly identical to what Harry was experiencing.

"Oh my..." Pomfrey said as she finished the relevant section. "I must tell Professor Dumbledore at once! Stay here with him, won't you?"

"Of course." Hermione said as the now frantic nurse rushed out of the room to contact Dumbledore. Once she was gone the room was again silent except for the sounds of Harry sleeping Daphne sat down next to him and the other followed her lead and waited for the nurse to come back. "Where's Sirius?" Hermione asked, curious as to why he wasn't the first one they told.

"Out on Order business of some kind." Daphne said. "I only know that because my father went with him. Neither of them would say what they were up to, just that it wasn't dangerous and so I shouldn't worry, which probably means they are now in mortal peril." Neville laughed at the joke, then remembered he was supposed to be quiet and tried to stifle his laughs. Silence returned then as they continued to wait. There was little else they could do at that point.

It was almost twenty minutes later when Dumbledore finally walked into the room with Madam Pomfrey trailing close behind him. The book had been laid on a table and Dumbledore immediately went to it and began reading. He stroked his beard as if in deep thought as he did.

"What do you think?" Hermione asked. "Are we right?"

"I believe you may be." Dumbledore said with a nod. "I have heard of Loki's Wrath before, but never knew what it did. It's been many years since I last heard of someone looking for it."

"Who was the last one?" Daphe asked.

"Gellert Grindelwald." Dumbledore replied, "Though this was before he began attempting to take over the world. I don't know if he ever discovered what it was or how it was performed, but it seems that Voldemort has. That's not important now, what is important is helping Harry."

"We thought we might be able to try and show him the spell the next time he's aware of what is going on." Hermione explained.

"Eventually, that will have to be what we do." Dumbledore agreed. "But before that can happen, I must show Harry how to perform Occlumancy."

"How can you do that?" Neville asked. "He's out."

"Very true, Mr Longbottom." Dumbledore replied while his eyes lit up as if he had just heard a very funny joke. "But I believe Harry is already learning."

"How?" Daphne said.

"His mind has been looking for some way to combat this spell ever since it struck him." Dumbledore explained. "I believe that when I first entered his mind to try and set things right his subconscious was observing me and what I was doing. Perhaps inadvertently, I showed Harry how to fight the effects of the spell and he has been trying to recreate that ever since with some success. What I shall do is return to his mind and continue to demonstrate how to perform Occlumency. It is a most unusual way to learn the art, but if we are successful Harry should be most skilled in it by the time we are through."

"So you are a Legilimens." Daphne smirked. "I've always suspected you were."

"Very intuitive of you, Ms Greengrass." Dumbledore said as he smiled back. "Now, I believe I shall begin at once. I must warn you however, this process could take several days. Do not expect to have the old Harry back immediately." The three teens all nodded a bit sadly but did not say anything in response. Dumbledore turned back to Harry and placed his hand lightly on the boy's forehead. He then whispered "Legilimens" and began the process of bringing Harry out of his own mind.

* * *

The next day Dumbledore returned and continued trying to help Harry. The first session had produced a noticeable change in him. Harry no longer spoke of strange, nonsensical things. In fact he did not speak at all. He simply wondered around his room inspecting things as if he were very curious about what they were. Dumbledore seemed to believe this was a good sign, though Madam Pomfrey was not sure what to make of it.

Sirius had quickly become frustrated with merely watching Dumbledore stare at Harry as if in a trance and had left the room. Although he was reluctant to admit it to himself, most of his anger came from that fact that it was Dumbledore helping Harry and not him. But unfortunately Sirius was not a Legilimens and therefore there was nothing he could do. And so he sat in the living room drinking a glass of firewhiskey and waiting for his godson to get better.

"Got another glass of that?" Daniel Greengrass asked as he walked in the room. Sirius pointed over to the table where the open bottle was sitting and Daniel poured himself a glass before sitting down near Sirius. "Give it a few more days and you'll have Harry back as good as new."

"I know." Sirius replied with a smile. "As soon as he's better and I've finished telling him how glad I am he's ok I am going to have to yell at him for no watching his back and putting us through this. Terribly rude of him."

"Go easy on him." Daniel laughed. "He is still untrained, though his potential is undeniable. Don't leave his education up to Dumbledore though, there are things about magic that he will never teach."

"Like the Cruciatus I saw you use on your brother?"

"That, I admit, was an error." Daniel agreed. "I should have just Avada Kedavra'd him and been done with it."

"It doesn't bother you?" Sirius asked. "Using the Unforgivables?"

"No, it doesn't." Daniel answered bluntly. "They are tools, nothing more. Whether or not they are evil depends on how they are used. You don't use them, do you?"

"I made a promise to myself to be different than the rest of my family." Sirius explained. "Part of that has been not using the Unforgivables. Maybe, as you say, it isn't a bad thing to use them at all. But I never will. Besides, if I need to finish a duel there are other ways to do that than the killing curse."

"True, but they're probably more painful." Daniel replied. "In a way, the killing curse is quite merciful. It produces instant death. There's no pain, suffering, or false hope that its victim might live."

"That's a unique way of looking at it." Sirius said with a small grin. "I see your point, but I don't think I'll be thanking the Death Eaters for their kindness anytime soon."

"No, I suppose not." Daniel said. He was about to say something else when they both heard Daphne's voice shouting for Sirius to come into Harry's room. She had been sitting and watching Dumbledore during the past hour or so, eager as anyone else was to see Harry's condition improve. Sirius and Daniel jumped out of their seats and rushed to the other side of the house where Harry's room was. When they walked in the first thing they saw was Harry, sitting up in bed looking alert and aware of his surroundings.

"Sirius!" Harry said happily. Sirius immediately ran to Harry's side and gave him a hug.

"Are you better now? Have you cast the counter curse?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"Not exactly." Dumbledore answered from the other side of the bed. "He is becoming more adept at overcoming the turmoil in his mind."

"What counter curse?" Harry asked, unsure of what was happening due to the fact he had just regained the use of his mind.

"We identified the curse Voldemort used on you." Daphne explained. "It's called Loki's Wrath, and the counter to it can only be cast by you or Voldemort."

"How do I do it?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Actually Harry, I was hoping you would wait to cast the spell. At least for a few days." Dumbledore said to the shock of all those in the room. Everyone immediately began demanding to know why he would ask such a thing. "Harry, by fighting this spell your mind seems to be teaching itself Occlumancy which is the art organizing your thoughts in a way that prevents them from being manipulated by a Legilimens. I have never seen anyone make as much progress in the art as quickly as you have in the past few days, and I believe that in a few more you will have mastered it on your own. This would be a valuable skill."

"Sirius? What should I do?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"It's up to you, kid." Sirius said. "I won't lie to you, Occlumency is an important thing to learn especially if there is anything in that head of yours you want to protect. But I don't know that I like this method of you learning it."

"I can think clearer now." Harry said. "It's not as confusing as it was before, but even now I am struggling to keep myself going. I can't keep this up forever."

"But you're learning to." Dumbledore commented. "And that is what is important."

"I think you should do it, Harry." Daphne said. "I hate seeing you like this, but you're getting so much better on your own. I just don't want Voldemort to ever be able to do this to you again."

"She's correct." Dumbledore said. "Once you master Occlumancy you will be immune from the effects of the spell. I leave the choice up to you."

Harry looked around at the group which had assembled in his room as he tried to decide what to do. The last week had been very difficult for him, but had improved by leaps and bounds in the previous days and would only get better. He could handle the challenge if he decided to face it, and in the end it was that knowledge which helped him make the decision.

"Fine. I'll do it." Harry said finally. "This should only be for another few days, right? Then I can cast the counter spell and be done with it completely?"

"Precisely." Dumbledore agreed. "You're doing a fine job as it is, just continue doing what you are doing. I'm sure your friends will be happy to sit with you and keep you company as you resist the effects of the spell. I do not believe you need my help anymore, though either myself or Professor Snape may come around to check on your Occlumency progress."

"Snape stays out of this house except for Order meetings." Sirius demanded. "That is not negotiable. If I see him in here I you will have to find another spy, understand?" Dumbledore looked disappointed with Sirius' statement, but did not argue with him.

"Very well, I will pass on the message to Severus." Dumbledore said. "I do wish you two would put this feud behind you, though I am beginning to doubt that will ever happen."

"You heard what he said the last time he was here." Sirius replied angrily. "I won't stand for that in my own house." Dumbledore shrugged and said nothing more on the subject.

"I hate to interrupt, but I think I'm about to lose control again." Harry said. "It feels so strange, like when I..." Harry's eyes appeared to glaze over and he slumped back in the bed. He slowly looked from person to person but it was clear that Harry wasn't aware of what was happening any more. Daphne moved to sit on the bed with him, though Harry continued to ignore her.

"You guys can go if you want." Daphne said. "I'll stay with him." No one was in the mood to argue with her and they began to leave. Finally only Harry, Daphne, and Daniel Greengrass were left in the room.

"You've become a very loyal young woman, and I'm proud of you." Daniel said quietly. "Are you sure the sorting hat didn't mean to put you in Hufflepuff?"

"Quiet!" Daphne said in a fake angry voice. "You would do the same thing if mom was in his place."

"You know me too well." Daniel agreed. "Try and make it home for dinner, ok?"

"Sure." Daphne said. Daniel looked at the young couple one last time before turning and leaving the room. Daphne continued to wait, hoping that Harry would awaken once again and give them the chance to talk like they had before he had been hit with the curse.

* * *

As the next few days passed Harry's periods of awareness increased in both frequency and length. By the third day he was absolutely normal for the majority of the time he was awake. Once he had passed that halfway mark the improvement seemed to accelerate and just a week after Neville had found the key to repairing the damage done by Voldemort's spell Harry was able to spend the entire day talking with friends and even reading the next year's textbooks without any real problems. Slowly he began to get back into the routine he had established before the battle at Azkaban.

After hours of pestering, Harry was finally able to convince Sirius to duel him as a test of his recovery. The two of them made their way to the cleared out basement, although Sirius was trying to talk Harry out of it the entire way.

"I just don't think this is a good idea." Sirius said. "You haven't even cast the counter spell yet, you're still carrying the curse with you."

"Yes, but I can fight it now." Harry assured him. "I haven't really had the chance to use magic for over a week and it's driving me insane. Does that make sense?"

"I think I understand a little about insanity, Harry." Sirius replied, smiling. "And you certainly are showing all of the early signs, sad to say. You remind me a bit of myself at your age to be honest."

"I'm going to hex that smirk off your face, Padfoot." Harry said. "Assuming you aren't going to chicken out."

"No, I suppose not." Sirius answered. "You're sure about this?"

"For the dozenth time, yes I am sure." Harry said. The two had reached the basement and were now facing each other with about fifteen feet separating them. Harry had his wand out pointed at Sirius who was holding his wand down at his side. Harry could already tell that his godfather was not going to put any effort into the duel due to his worry for him, a problem Harry would just have to correct. "Ready?"

Sirius nodded and raised his wand. Harry decided to wait for him to cast the first spell so as to better judge his frame of mind. Sirius hesitated for a moment as if he were also waiting for Harry to cast first, but eventually he sighed and cast a spell. "Stupefy!" Sirius practically shouted. The spell came out weak and Harry did not even have to move in order to avoid it. His suspicions were confirmed, Sirius was trying to go easy on him.

Harry grinned and shook his head, Sirius was going to pay for not taking him seriously. A silent Levicorpus caught Sirius off guard and hoisted him into the air where he hung upside down. Before he could cancel the spell Harry had silently cast Aguamenti and was spraying him with a jet of water to the face that, while not painful, was still effective at preventing him from casting the counter to Levicorpus. After a few moments Harry got bored with his game and cancelled the spell for his godfather who tumbled to the ground with a loud thump. When Sirius pushed himself up off the ground Harry was amused to see an angry glare on his face.

"Going to stop playing around now?" Harry asked mockingly.

"You know Harry, I was trying to be nice." Sirius said as he shook the water out of his hair, much like a dog would do. "Yes, play time is over." Sirius dropped into his dueling stance, this time clearly not treating Harry like a sick child. Sirius' opening spell was a bludgeoning hex aimed at Harry's stomach which, if it had hit, would have completely ruined his day. Harry was expecting something similar however and raised a shield that was able to easily absorb it. Sirius growled, obviously unhappy that his opening salvo had been stopped so easily. He then began to let loose a stream of spells at Harry, all of them designed to hurt, slow down, or simply annoy him. Harry avoided almost all of them, the exception being a Jelly Legs Jinx that forced him to the ground and rolling away from Sirius' follow up spells as he countered the jinx. Within seconds he was back on his feet and ready to take the fight to his godfather.

"Incendio!" Harry yelled, wanting Sirius to know what was coming. A wall of flame sprang from Harry's wand so large that avoiding it was not an option for Sirius. Instead he raised a shield and covered his eyes against the bright flames. While his opponent was distracted Harry took the time disillusion himself and move off to Sirius' side. By the time the flames died down Harry was practically invisible, a fact that Sirius quickly noticed.

"You can't hide from me..." Sirius said as he looked around the room searching for a sign of Harry. Disillusionment spells are particularly effective when cast on non moving objects, and so there was little chance Sirius would see him unless he moved. Or cast a revealing charm, "Homenum Revelio!" Sirius said with a wide wave of his wand. Harry's was moving before he even felt the spell taking effect and his disillusionment charm fading out. As he moved behind Sirius Harry cast a spell that sent hurricane force winds towards him and knocked the man to the ground. The wand was knocked out of Sirius' hand and before he could crawl to retrieve it Harry had summoned it. Sirius turned to face Harry and saw that he now had two wands pointed directly at him.

"Lucky move." Sirius said, not really meaning it. Harry had surpassed him and there was little more he could do to teach his godson. "My wand please?"

"Here." Harry said as he threw Sirius' wand back to him. It felt good to once again be using his magic, even if the duel had ended a little too quick for his tastes. "Want to go again?"

"I don't know if that would really help you, Harry." Sirius replied. "You need a more able teacher than me now. You just need to be a little less reckless during real fights. That's what got you hurt last time."

"I know, and it was stupid of me." Harry said. "It was weird though, I didn't even mean to chop off Crouch's head. I was just surprised when it happened."

"That makes sense I suppose. Just don't do it again." Sirius said. "I don't want to have to carry your unconscious body back here again."

"Thanks for that, by the way." Harry answered, grinning. "I do appreciate it. And whoever it was that thought to pick up my Firebolt."

"You can thank Tonks for that one." Sirius told him. "I was more concerned with you. So, no more crazy stuff ok?"

"You know I can't promise that!" Harry laughed. "Have you seen my life over the past four years? Who knows what is going to happen in fifth year!"

"Maybe you will have a quiet year with no one trying to attack you." Sirius said hopefully.

"Sure, that'd be different." Harry agreed. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat to get their attention. When Harry turned to look he saw that it was Professor Dumbledore with Mad Eye Moody right behind him. He had no idea how long they had been there watching.

"I do believe that Harry wouldn't know what to do in a year without conflict." Dumbledore said, obviously having heard the last part of Harry's conversation. "But we shall, as always, strive for that."

"I hope so." Harry answered with a shrug. "What's going on?"

"I have come to test your mental shields, and if they are as strong as I believe them to be you can cast the counter curse and be done with this 'Loki's Wrath' business once and for all." Dumbledore informed him. The professor then conjured a pair of chairs in front of Harry. He sat in one and motioned for Harry to sit in the other. Harry, eager to have to be done with the curse, sat down and waited. "Now, you have never tried to prevent an attack from another person so it may be a bit different. In the end your goal is the same, to protect the knowledge and feelings that make up who you are. I am going to attempt to take that from you, are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Harry answered nervously. Dumbledore nodded and cast the spell, beginning the legilimancy process. Harry closed his eyes, hoping that would help him concentrate. At first nothing happened, but then he became aware of another presence in his mind. It was different than how he felt when he could not fight the effects of Voldemort's spell, but at the same time somewhat similar. Suddenly a memory rushed to the forefront of his mind. It was of the welcoming feast in his first year. Dumbledore was giving his typical speech and also warning people to stay away from the room where Harry knew Hagrid's cerberus Fluffy was. It took Harry a moment to realize that he was seeing this memory because Dumbledore had caused him to, and if Dumbledore could call up this memory so easily he could retrieve any other as well. Harry focused on the feeling that he associated with fighting Loki's Wrath and tried to hide the memory from Dumbledore. Slowly things went black and silent as the memory faded from view, but as it did a fresh assault began as Dumbledore attempted to view another memory. Harry could not tell what he was after but knew he could not stop to find out. Again he fought back against the mental intrusion but this time it was a little easier because he realized what he needed to do.

Harry thought he had won the contest when Dumbledore renewed his attack, this time more powerful than ever. Harry's defenses buckled under the pressure of Dumbledore's mental assault but amazingly held, though for how long they would remain Harry could not say. Suddenly the pressure was gone, as was Dumbledore's presence in his mind. Harry opened his eyes to see Dumbledore and the others smiling back at him.

"How'd I do?" Harry asked.

"Marvelously!" Dumbledore answered happily. "Very impressive work, Harry. You should be proud of yourself."

"Oh. Well then thanks." Harry replied. "So can I get rid of the spell now? It doesn't affect me like it used to, but it is still very annoying."

"Certainly." Dumbledore smiled. "I trust you know the wand movements and incantations?" Harry nodded, he had spent long hours committing every detail to memory. "Then proceed."

Harry gripped his wand and stood up from the chair, careful to give himself enough room. The incantation was in Old Norse, though Harry did not know that. He knew how to pronounce the words and in what order, but not the meaning behind them. If he had he would have recognized it as a prayer to old gods, begging for mercy. As he spoke he waved the wand in an elaborate movement, careful not to make any mistake. As he spoke the last syllable and finished the wand movement he was surrounded by a bright yellow light that flashed and then faded away. Immediately he could tell that the force which had been draining his magic to turn his mind against itself was gone.

"It worked!" Harry said happily. "I'm me again."

"Nice work, Harry!" Sirius said, grinning happily. "I knew you could do it."

"Now, there was one more reason we are here today." Dumbledore said. "A request from Sirius actually." Harry looked at his godfather uncertainly, wondering what was going on.

"Like I said before, you need a better teacher than me. And we just happen to have one." Sirius said. "Mad Eye? He's all yours."

"You?" Harry said, surprised the old Auror would be willing to train him.

"Aye, me." Moody said, grinning evilly. "Vacation's over. I hope you are ready to go through hell for the next month, because this isn't school and I'm not your professor anymore. The gloves come off, are you ready for that?"

"Sure." Harry answered uncertainly. Moody had a certain reputation that even the most talented Death Eaters had to respect. The prospect of him tutoring Harry was both exciting and terrifying for him. But there were few better teachers in the world. "When do we start?"

"Right now!" Mad Eye answered, whipping out his wand and beginning to attack Harry who was caught completely off guard. Neither Sirius nor Dumbledore could keep themselves from laughing at the predicament Harry now found himself in.

* * *

Author's Note: Hopefully the next update won't be so slow coming. On the bright side there should only be one more chapter left before school starts again and we return to more familiar territory. Thanks again for all the reviews and comments!


	36. Chapter 36

The force of Moody's spell sent Harry spinning to the ground, but he was moving as soon as he hit. Over the past three weeks he had learned to never stop moving when facing the old Auror, it was the only way to have any chance of beating him. Harry winced as he sidestepped another spell from Moody before shooting a Reducto back at him. Harry's left arm hung limp and useless at his side and he was fairly certain that it was broken. Additionally his right leg was bleeding from a long gash just above his knee and the skin on his right shoulder had been burned off which made it quite painful to move his arm while casting. His only comfort was that Moody wasn't looking much better than he was. Harry was fairly certain he had broken Moody's ankle on the one good leg he had left early in the fight and though it had slowed the older man down some he had refused to give any sign that he was in pain. Perhaps he had cast a numbing charm on it while Harry wasn't looking, that was possible but it also increased the amount of damage done to the ankle. The skin on Moody's left arm had also been ripped open by a wolf that Harry had transfigured from a marble he had hidden in his pocket. Moody had quickly caught on to his habit of transfiguring random items into wild beasts to do his bidding and had removed everything from the basement that could be easily transfigured. Harry had responded by bringing his own materials with him.

In the beginning Moody had the advantage in both pure magical power and experience. As a result Harry ended most days a bloodied and beaten wreck with Moody's laughs and words of advice ringing in his ears. Gradually he began to improve, and although he still ended most days with multiple injuries he had been able to begin effectively retaliating against his tutor. Moody insisted that the day wasn't over until one of them was not able to continue, unfortunately for Harry every day so far had ended because he could go no further. Today, however, was looking promising for him.

A jet of blue light erupted from Moody's wand headed for Harry's feet. Harry turned to avoid it, realizing only as the spell hit the ground that Moody had never intended for it to hit him. The floor underneath his feet became soft like a thick mud and Harry began to sink into it. With great difficulty Harry was able to pull himself out of the hole, but it had slowed him down enough that he could not avoid Moody's next spell. It was, unsurprisingly, the Cruciatus curse. At first Harry thought it was odd the old Auror would ever use the spell but Moody had explained that this training was meant to prepare him to fight Death Eaters and the average Death Eater only really uses a few spells. The Reducto curse was one of their favorites and in the right hands could be deadly. But the two spells used more than that were the Cruciatus and the Avada Kedavra. The pain from the curse was brutal and Harry knew his teacher wouldn't hold back. His only options were to give up or fight through the pain. Harry chose to fight.

It took all of his willpower to focus through the pain, but Harry managed to conjure a brick wall between himself and Moody. The Cruciatus was strong enough to break through the wall, but in the moment that took Harry was on the move again. The spell he used to counter attack was quite different from normal spells. Instead of a ball of light flying towards its victim this one produces bolts of electricity that shot from the tip of his wand and struck his victim. Moody had used it on him during their first week of training and he knew from experience that it was almost as painful as the Cruciatus. A flare of blue light signaled that Moody had been able to raise a Protego shield which Harry knew was capable of stopping the lightning spell. Harry cancelled the spell and immediately launched a powerful piercing curse at Moody in the hopes it would break through his shield. He saw Moody's Protego evaporate as his curse flew past it but Moody was not caught off guard like Harry had hoped he would be and had avoided the spell. As Harry prepared his next move he couldn't help but notice that Moody is smiling at him, and that is never a good sign.

With his wand pointed at his teacher, Harry cast a slicing charm that spread like a wave from his wand at about chest level. It wasn't powerful enough to kill, but he knew it would end the fight if it hit. As the spell left his wand Harry heard Moody say something, but could not make out what it was. That was odd to begin with, Moody always cast silently unless it was a spell which could not be used silently and there were very few of those. Harry's jaw dropped in shock as he saw a familiar green light build at the end of Moody's wand and then speed towards him. Harry instinctively dropped to the ground to avoid the spell. Harry was overcome by anger at Moody's carelessness and as he pushed himself to the ground Harry felt the rage in him building. He attempted to cast a Stupefy in hopes of ending the duel and finding out just what Moody thought he was doing, but what came out of his wand was like no stunning spell he had ever seen before. Instead of a small sphere of light an entire wall of red magic erupted from his wand and raced towards Moody. Harry saw his shocked expression and futile attempt to raise a shield before the spell hit him and dropped him to the ground.

Harry walked over to his stunned tutor and removed the wand from his hand. With his wand he cast Incarcerous, causing ropes to wrap tightly around Moody. Only then did he Enneverate the man. Moody's eyes shot open and he took a moment to consider his situation. Harry was glaring down angrily at him, but Moody's response was to begin laughing madly as if something were very funny.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Harry demanded to know. "You could have killed me!"

"Calm down, Potter!" Moody laughed. "It wasn't really the killing curse, just one that happens to look almost exactly the same. It's good for catching people off guard, just like I did you. And it just so happens that it got exactly the response I was looking for."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"You're more powerful than you think, far more powerful than I am." Moody explained. "I've known it for a while now. The hard part has been drawing it out of you. Every so often I'll see a flash of something great in you, but then you go and hide it away again. That must end if you're ever going to survive."

With a flick of his wrist Harry vanished the ropes tying Mad Eye Moody down and helped the man up. Neither of them were in particularly good shape at the moment and were both in need of healing spells and potions. Harry sighed, as bad as he felt today he knew he had been far worse before. That's when realization finally hit him.

"Hey! I beat you!" Harry said, smiling. "I finally did it."

"It's about time, too." Moody replied. "If it takes you this long to beat a one eyed, one legged, senior citizen you're never going to make it in the real world."

"You're still one of the best." Harry protested. "Everybody says so."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Doesn't change the fact that if you can't beat me you certainly can't be Voldemort." Moody said with a grunt. "Still, you're a fun fight kid. Go get yourself cleaned up, I think we're done for the day."

"I go back to Hogwarts at the end of the week." Harry reminded him. "I'm going to miss these duels, but not the pain that comes with them of course. Sure would be nice if you were going to be around this year to keep helping me."

"I told you already, I am not teaching at Hogwarts this year!" Moody said. "One semester of you kids was enough, I'd rather be dealing with Death Eaters and other criminals."

"Have it your way." Harry laughed as he slowly walked towards the exit. Now that the duel was over and his adrenaline was wearing off the pain of his injuries was becoming impossible to ignore. "See you tomorrow, Professor." As Harry closed the door he could clearly hear Moody insisting that he was not a Professor any more. Harry chuckled and made his way back to his room where he kept a trunk full of healing potions. After the duel he just finished he was going to need a lot of them.

* * *

Harry's Firebolt lay on the desk in front of him with several bright lights shining on it. He was carefully inspecting every inch of the high quality broom, making sure that it had not suffered any damage during the battle at Azkaban. So far he had not seen any problems other than the normal wear and tear, but he knew better than to just assume it was fine without checking. He had found himself missing Quidditch during the past few days and hoping that the school's favorite sport would be returned this year. Finally satisfied that the broom was in good condition, Harry began applying a coat of protective potion that would ensure it stayed that way.

"Hey Harry! Didn't mean to walk in on your polishing your broom." a joking voice said from the doorway. Harry turned and saw that Fred and George Weasley were standing right outside his door congratulating each other on the joke.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Harry replied. "It's a good thing you two aren't trying to be stand up comedians."

"Don't say that." Fred protested. "We'd be smash hits!"

"Sure." Harry said skeptically. "So what are you two doing here?"

"Dad's at the Order meeting downstairs, and we thought this would be the perfect time to test out our new product." George explained. He then held out a small box which Harry carefully took, uncertain whether it was going to explode or attack him in some way.

"What is it?" Harry asked, still not daring to open the box.

"Go ahead, look for yourself." Fred replied. "It won't bite." Harry didn't completely trust either of the twins, but decided he might as well get it over with. When he opened the box he thankfully saw that it had not been a trap as he had feared. Inside was one item: what appeared to be a human ear with a long, flesh colored string attached.

"An ear on a string?" Harry asked. "What's it do?"

"You, oh business partner of mine, hold in your hand Weasley's Wizard Wheezes newest creation: Extendable Ears!" George proudly proclaimed. "With these, no conversation is private!"

"Maybe that's not the best ad line..." Fred said thoughtfully. "But who cares! We'll figure it out. And now, the demonstration..."

"How would you like to listen in to a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix?" George asked. "Once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"Sirius will just tell me what's going on when it is over anyway." Harry said to the disappointment of the twins. "But, let's try them out anyway."

The twins smiled and ushered Harry out of his room and to the stairway. From here they could faintly hear voices talking, but it was impossible to make out what they were saying. George put a finger over his mouth, telling the others to be very quiet, as he took an Extendable Ear out of his pocket. He slowly began lowering the ear downstairs and closer to the meeting itself. Thankfully, none of the Order seemed to notice what was going on. When the device had reached its destination George put the other end of the string in his ear and gave Fred and Harry a thumbs up to let them know it was working. Harry began copying what George had done and after a bit of effort to get the ear positioned right he could now hear exactly what was going on at the meeting.

"These are great!" Harry whispered to Fred who merely smiled and nodded. Downstairs the meeting was already in progress with what sounded like Kingsley Shacklebolt reporting on a team of Aurors taking down a pair of giants the previous night. Two young Aurors had also apparently died on the mission, but the Ministry still seemed to consider it a success.

"...Similar missions will be authorized as soon as we have solid information on where the giants are hiding." Shacklebolt continued. "To date we believe we have killed perhaps a quarter of the giants brought to England, but the threat is still very real. The good news is that funding to the Auror division has finally been increased allowing us to update equipment and hire new recruits. The bad news is that we are getting fewer applicants wanting to be Aurors than we had hoped."

"A problem you will soon be in a better position to address, I would think." Dumbledore commented. He received no audible response. "Severus, any news?"

"The Dark Lord is planning something, though no one knows what. A meeting of all Death Eaters has been called for tomorrow at five. This is a very unusual occurrence." Snape explained. "I will bring back what news I can."

"Where is our next target, then?" Sirius asked. "We should be planning on attacking as well."

"Let us wait at least until Severus has uncovered more information." Dumbledore replied.

"You can wait then." Sirius said. "I'm going to help the Aurors. I have experience fighting giants and that's what they need right now. Amelia offered me a position as a consultant to the Auror division, and I guess I am going to take it." Harry was surprised by his godfather's statement as he had not mentioned anything about it to him. He wondered if Sirius had been waiting for him to go back to school before doing this.

"There are other ways you could be helping the Order..." Dumbledore responded.

"But this is the best way I know how to help the war effort." Sirius said, interrupting him. "It's done, Dumbledore. There's no use arguing with me anymore."

"Very well." Dumbledore said softly. "I believe this meeting is at an end. All of you, please be careful in the coming days. If, as Severus says, Voldemort is planning to launch a new offensive it could come at any time." There were murmurs of agreement as the meeting broke up and people began to leave or talk to each other about other things. Harry and the twins quickly pulled their Extendable Ears backs so they would not be caught. No one seemed to have noticed them. Quietly they stood up and walked back to Harry's room.

"Well that was interesting." George said once they had closed the door. "Well, ok, maybe a bit boring. Do you think all of their meetings are like that?"

"That's basically it." Harry said knowingly. "They mostly just sit around a talk about what's going on. Why did you two want to know so badly anyway? Thinking of joining the Order?"

"They'd be lucky to have us!" Fred insisted. "We've got to do something though don't we? Family tradition and all."

"These Extendable Ears work great." Harry said. "I bet the Order could use things like this. The truth is that they probably won't let you fight until at least after you graduate, but if you two could keep coming up with useful stuff for them to use then they would be a lot more likely to let you in."

"Brother, our business partner makes a good point." Fred replied. "I've got it! A new line of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products! Zonko would never think of doing something like this."

"We could corner the market!" George said happily.

"Just be careful who you're giving these things to ok?" Harry said, holding up the Extendable Ear. "It would be bad if they ended up in the wrong hands."

"Guess that's going to be a small market then, huh George?" Fred asked. "No worries! Come on, I've got an idea I'm dying to try out."

"Lead on!" George said, raising his hand to point towards the door. The twins waved good-bye before marching out of the room leaving Harry alone to wonder what they could be up to. After considering it for a moment he decided it was probably safer not to know and sat back down to finish working on his broom.

* * *

"Are you sure you can't tell it's me?" Harry asked as he gently poked at his face. He and Daphne were standing in front of the entrance to Diagon Alley behind the Leaky Cauldron. Before getting on the Knight Bus to make their way here they had taken turns casting various glamour charms on each other so that no one would be able to recognize them. As a result Harry was now a blond with brown eyes and a flat nose. His most unique feature, his scar, had been hidden and he did indeed look completely different. Daphne, meanwhile, had been turned into a brunette with bright green eyes that would have matched Harry's natural eye color. Harry had also conjured a pair of glasses with plain lenses for her to wear that masked her appearance even more.

"No, Harry." Daphne replied, smiling. "You saw yourself in the mirror before we left, there's no way anyone will recognize either of us. We'll be safe this way, Sirius and my dad both thought so." Harry shrugged in response but made sure he could quickly get to his wand if he needed to. Daphne began pressing bricks on the wall with her wand and a moment later the bricks began to rearrange themselves into a door, opening the way into Diagon Alley.

"So, what's first?" Harry asked. "Quidditch supplies?"

"No, how about some new robes?" Daphne replied. "You may not have noticed, but you've grown since last year. So have I, for that matter. Madame Malkin's is right over there, let's go." Harry groaned but followed anyway. He did not especially like the process of picking out and having new robes fitted for him, but he knew it was necessary. They spent the next half hour in the store, most of it with Daphne mocking how uncomfortable he clearly was having his measurements taken. In the end though they both left with exactly what they came for. For the next few hours they strolled through Diagon Alley purchasing all the supplies they would need for the coming year and enjoying the anonymity. They both agreed that disguising themselves was the best way to spend time in public when they wanted to have a good time.

Eventually the day was drawing to a close. They had arrived shortly after lunch had barely noticed how much time had passed. They knew that they would be expected back soon so reluctantly they began to head back to the entrance of Diagon Alley. Their path took them past the entrance into Knockturn Alley and what Harry saw when he glanced down the seedier district stopped him in his tracks.

"Did you see that?" Harry asked as he took a step towards Knockturn Alley.

"See what?" Daphne asked, clearly unaware of what Harry was talking about.

"I could swear I just saw Rodolphus Lestrange walk into that pub." Harry explained. He took a few steps towards where he had seen the Death Eater before Daphne put a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"What are you thinking of doing, Harry?" Daphne asked. "You can't just go charging into Knockturn Alley and attack Lestrange, who knows what kind of back up he has."

"I just want to see what he's doing, ok?" Harry explained. "Maybe I'll get the chance to take him out, maybe not. But I can't just give up and let him go."

"OK, but just try not to draw attention to us." Daphne replied. Together they walked into Knockturn Alley and towards the pub where Rodolphus Lestrange had gone. They alley seemed unnaturally dark, even though the sun was brightly shining back in Diagon Alley. Very few people were there, and those who were made sure to keep their faces mostly covered. Harry and Daphne tried to do the same so as not to appear out of the ordinary. They approached the pub and stood next to it, looking through a dirty window that offered a view of the bar at which Lestrange now sat. A glass of amber colored liquid was placed in front of him and he eagerly drank it before ordering another. The bartender nodded and poured a glass, but it was clear from his face that he was reluctant to do anything to anger Lestrange.

"I knew it was him." Harry smirked as they watched. "Hopefully he'll be coming out of there soon."

"I don't know about that." Daphne said as Lestrange downed another drink. "He looks pretty occupied at the moment."

"Wait! What time is it?" Harry asked, remembering something he had heard the previous night.

"Almost five, why?" Daphne replied.

"Because Snape said they had a Death Eater meeting at five to discuss something big, all of the big shots are going to be there." Harry explained. "I guess we can just wait for him to leave..."

"That won't work." Daphne said. "See that door in the back? It leads outside. I've already seen a couple of people leave through it. My guess is that Lestrange will do the same thing when he has to leave."

"Well then do you think we should just go in there and drag him out?" Harry wondered. "I bet I could take him..."

"Too risky. I don't think we're going to be able to stop him, Harry." Daphne said sadly. She was disappointed as well. Lestrange had just been given a new drink, having quickly finished his first two. The other people in the bar had moved out of the Death Eater's way as if trying to avoid him.

"So we don't try and stop him, we do something else." Harry suggested. "I think I could get a tracking spell on him from here."

"Those are unpredictable if not done very close to the subject." Daphne replied with a shake of her head. "Wait a second... I think I may have an idea."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"If it works, we'll have to thank Snape and Malfoy." Daphne said with a grin. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a tiny pouch. When the pouch was opened Harry saw numerous small containers, each filled with a different potion. "I got the idea for this from Professor Snape. He always carries around a few useful potions just in case he needs them. And Malfoy gave me this idea." Daphne held up a vial that held a dark red liquid.

"Let me guess, the Draught of Rage?" Harry asked. Daphne nodded and carefully handed the potion to Harry. "Have I told you today how amazing you are?"

"Never hurts to say it again." Daphne replied. "Now, how good are your switching spells?"

"Oh I get it." Harry said as he began to understand Daphne's plan. "You want me to switch some of Rodolphus' beer with the potion. Do you think he'll notice?"

"He's drinking pretty fast, so hopefully not. Can you do it?"

"I think so." Harry answered. "The hard part is going to be figuring out when to do it. We don't want it to wear off before he gets there." Daphne nodded and they both turned back to the window trying to decide when to act. Lestrange had just been given another drink and reached out to take it when suddenly he stopped and winced in pain a little.

"Now Harry! He's just been called!" Daphne said, realizing that Lestrange's pain came from his Dark Mark being activated. Harry nodded and cast the switching spell. Instantly the red potion in the vial was replaced with some of Rodolphus' beer. They could only assume that the potion had made it's way into the Death Eater's glass. Rodolphus stood up from the bar and for a moment Harry and Daphne worried that he would leave without drinking the potion, but thankfully he retrieved his beer and downed it one long gulp. He then walked out the back door and left without paying. The bartender wisely did not try and stop him but was simply thankful he had left.

"Do you think it worked?" Harry asked. "I couldn't tell."

"I think so." Daphne answered, also unsure. "I guess the Death Eaters are about to find out."

Harry shrugged and happily began to imagine all the chaos they might have caused. He only wished he could be there to see it...

* * *

Rodolphus Lestrange did not know it, but Harry's spell had indeed worked exactly as he planned it.

The Death Eaters were all beginning to arrive at Voldemort's lair in response to the call, but Voldemort himself had not yet arrived. The room into which Lestrange and the others had apparated was dark and cold, with rough stone walls making it appear like the dungeon it was. As Rodolphus Lestrange looked around the room he scowled in annoyance at the others and the fact that his drinking had been interrupted. His mood did not at all approve when Crabbe and Goyle, two of the less intelligent Death Eaters, bumped into him,

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Lestrange demanded to know as he turned to face them. Already his hand was tightly clutching his wand, just waiting for an excuse to use it.

"Out of the way, Lestrange." Goyle said, unafraid of the other Death Eater. They attempted to keep walking, but Lestrange grabbed Goyle by the collar of his robe and threw him into the wall. Crabbe and Goyle both looked surprised by his actions, but Lestrange's face was twisted into a look of pure fury. "What's wrong with you?!"

"He's drunk!" Crabbe said, leaning in closer to Lestrange. The smell of alcohol still lingered around him. Lestrange growled at Crabbe, but kept Goyle pinned to the wall with his forearm at Goyle's neck.

"Stay out of this, you useless moron." Lestrange demanded, before turning back towards his victim. "Now, you will pay for what you did."

"You won't do anything to me." Goyle replied, not recognizing the danger he was in. By now the argument had started to draw a crowd of Death Eaters who had been waiting for Voldemort to arrive. Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy both watched, wondering what would happen.

"Oh really? CRUCIO!" Lestrange roared. Immediately Goyle fell to his knees, screaming in pain. Crabbe, seeing that his friend needed help, charged at Lestrange and knocked him to the ground. Lestrange hit the floor hard and struggled to get up while Crabbe went to check on Goyle. Everyone assumed the confrontation was over, but Rodolphus Lestrange had other ideas. Finally pulling himself to his feet, he pointed his wand at Crabbe's back and yelled "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Crabbe only had the chance to turn towards his attacker and look at him in shock before the green light struck him in the shoulder and sent him tumbling to the ground. The surrounding Death Eaters gasped in surprise, not expecting the argument to turn deadly. Goyle, seeing his life long friend murdered right in front of him, did the first thing that came to his mind. He aimed his wand at Lestrange and cast the killing curse right back at him. Fortunately for Lestrange he was able to dodge the curse, but a young Death Eater who was standing behind him was not so lucky. As he fell panic began to spread in the room as Death Eaters tried to get away from Goyle and Lestrange.

"Goyle!" Lucius Malfoy yelled, "Put down your wand!" Goyle looked at Malfoy for a moment, unsure of what to do. He knew that the Dark Lord would not be happy with what he had done, but Lestrange had killed Crabbe... His brief moment of uncertainty was what Lestrange had been waiting for, and he took advantage of it by firing another killing curse at Goyle. The large man tried to avoid it, but was not able to. He too collapsed to the ground in a lifeless heap.

A moment after the spell had left Rodolphus Lestrange's wand Bellatrix fired a Expelliarmus at him and sent the wand flying to the ground. Rodolphus screamed in anger and dove for the wand, but was hit by an Incarcerous spell from Lucius Malfoy. The two senior Death Eaters stood over Rodolphus and looked at each other, unsure of what to do now. Around them the Death Eaters all began trying to talk over each other, some yelling for Lestrange to die and some trying to calm the others.

"SILENCE!" the magically amplified voice of Lord Voldemort demanded. Immediately all conversations stopped and the crowd parted so that Voldemort could approach Lestrange. As he stood over the man the potion in Lestrange's body began to wear off, and his senses came back to him. "Rodolphus... why have you betrayed me?"

"No, my lord!" Rodolphus pleaded. "I would never betray you!"

"But you have." Voldemort insisted. "Three men lay dead because of you. You know how this must end."

"No, please!" Rodolphus begged. "I don't know what came over me, someone set me up!"

"I shall have mercy on you." Voldemort finally answered. "Due to your many years of loyal service, I will not torture you before I kill you. Avada Kedavra." Voldemort spoke the words with no enthusiasm, disappointed that he was being forced to kill on of his most loyal followers. But the man must pay for his actions to ensure that the others understood the consequences of such behavior. Lestrange had no chance of avoiding the spell and soon he too was dead. Finally everyone understood that the carnage was over. Voldemort turned to head back to the front of the room, saying as he walked "Clean this up, we have business to attend to."

The newest Death Eaters understood that meant they were to dispose of the bodies, which they obediently began to do. The others just shook their heads and wondered how this could have happened before turning to face the Dark Lord who would not let that minor inconvenience get in his way.

* * *

Author's Note:

And the summer's drawing to a close. Thanks again for sticking with this story, it means a lot to me when I hear that you're enjoying it.


	37. Chapter 37

Professor Dumbledore sat at his desk in his office at Hogwarts making final preparations for the coming school year. With his responsibilities as leader of the Order of the Phoenix and in the Wizengamot it was sometimes easy to become overwhelmed overlook his day job, but teaching children had been his life's work for most of his life and he was not willing to give it up. In a few short days the halls of Hogwarts would once again be filled with children eager to learn how to harness their magical abilities and it was his task to make sure they had that opportunity.

Dumbledore's thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at his door. "Enter." he said loudly enough so that the person outside could hear. When the door entered it revealed Severus Snape who, Dumbledore assumed, had just left the meeting of Death Eaters called by Lord Voldemort. The old professor could tell from the look on his spy's face that something was amiss. "Is there a problem Severus?"

"Yes, I would say so." Snape replied. "Crabbe and Goyle are dead, and the responsibility of informing their families has fallen to me."

"I had not heard of any attacks today." Dumbledore commented. "How did they die?"

"Killed in a pointless brawl by a drunken Rodolphus Lestrange, who was then executed by the Dark Lord as punishment." Snape explained. "There is certainly an increased feeling of tension within the ranks of the Death Eaters now. but fear of the Dark Lord will keep them in line for the most part."

"How very odd." Dumbledore said. "But even in these times of war we must remember that not every death is a result of an enemy attack. Perhaps it will discourage recruitment into the Death Eaters if they begin to fear that they may fall to friendly fire. I would also encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity this presents with regards to young Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. With their fathers dead you may be able to offer them advice that would dissuade them from following in their father's footsteps."

"I will try." Snape promised. "But I fear that they will turn to the Malfoy's for guidance. We can only hope that Draco does not turn out to be like Lucius."

"True." Dumbledore agreed with a nod. "Now, have you learned of Voldemort's plans?"

"An attack is coming on September 1." Snape replied.

"Ah, so it is true then." Dumbledore said. "An attack on the Hogwart's Express. I had heard rumors."

"No, those rumors have been spread by the Dark Lord on purpose." Snape answered. "The Ministry will waste much of its manpower protecting a target that the Dark Lord has no plans on attacking. Meanwhile, other targets will become vulnerable."

"So where is the attack going to occur?" Dumbledore asked. "We must be prepared."

"We were not told." Snape said. "We were assigned to different groups that would each have some mission to complete. Judging by the number of groups, no fewer than half a dozen targets will be hit on September first."

"Are you to lead one of these groups?"

"No." Snape replied with a grimace. "I am to assist the Dark Lord on a mission he claims requires his participation. I have no idea what that could be." Dumbledore nodded and sighed, the news his spy had brought was less complete and more ominous than he had been expecting. The forces at his command could not be everywhere and so it was inevitable that some of Voldemort's attacks would succeed. He could only hope that they would be able to respond in time.

"Thank you, Severus." Dumbledore said finally. "I will inform the rest of the Order and we will be ready when needed."

"Of course." Snape answered with a small bow of his head. Dumbledore turned back to what he was working on before Snape entered the room, but as the Potions professor left Dumbledore turned a worried eye back towards the door. Snape, he knew, had suffered and sacrificed much over the years in order to atone for his past sins but the new war was going to be especially tough on him. Dumbledore only hoped that the stress of Snape's situation would not become to much for him to handle.

* * *

"Harry! Get down here!" Sirius yelled from the kitchen on 12 Grimmauld Place. "We need to be leaving!" It was the morning of September 1 and Harry was desperately trying to get his last minute packing done so that he would be ready to board the Hogwarts Express. Upstairs Harry was busy throwing clothes and books into his trunk. He had planned on doing this the night before, but Mad Eye Moody had shown up intent on fitting one more brutal duel into the summer break. This one had been watched by Sirius and Daphne who were amazed at how violent it became. After nearly a half hour of fighting Harry had finally emerged the victor, although he passed out a few moments later due to blood loss from a huge gash across his abdomen. It took another hour to heal the two warriors and by then Harry was in no mood to pack.

"I'm almost done!" Harry shouted back as he slammed his trunk closed. He was forced to lean on it with all of his weight to get the lid down far enough for him to latch hit shut. When he was finally finished he breathed a sigh of relief. It was not typically like him to wait until the last minute to pack but he knew from his experiences with the Weasleys that it was not at all uncommon. With a flick of his wand the trunk rose into the air and followed him out of his room and downstairs where Sirius was waiting. "I don't know why you're in such a rush, the train doesn't leave for a half hour."

"True, but I have other things to attend to." Sirius replied. Harry nodded, knowing that he was referring to the pending Death Eater attacks that the Order of the Phoenix had been warned about. As Snape had predicted the Ministry, believing the rumors, had positioned the bulk of its available forces at King's Cross Station and along the path the Hogwarts Express would take. All available members of the Order of the Phoenix had been assigned to patrol various places they believed to be potential targets to see if the Death Eater's showed up there. If they did a request for back-up would immediately be sent out and hopefully they would be able to prevent Voldemort and his followers from doing any significant damage today. Harry was upset that he was not being allowed to participate but Sirius had been able to convince him that it was better if he was on the train just to ensure it wasn't attacked. Harry begrudgingly saw the merit of this point of view.

"Yeah, and the worst I'll have to deal with is Draco Malfoy making his annual visit to my car on the train to annoy me." Harry griped. "And I'm not even allowed to curse him for it."

"You shouldn't say that, Harry. You'll jinx it and then I'll have to come bail you out from an all out assault." Sirius jokingly replied. "Besides, maybe you'll get lucky and little Malfoy will try and hex you. Then you can curse him, in self defense of course."

"Of course." Harry agreed, smiling a little at the idea. A year ago Malfoy might have been a challenge in a duel, but now? Not a chance, Harry knew. "If he does I'll try not to hurt him, just embarrass him."

"I'll make a Marauder out of you, yet!" Sirius replied proudly. "We better get going. Are your friends going to be waiting on you?"

"I'll probably be there before they will be." Harry answered. "I'm ready anyway." Sirius nodded and walked over to Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder. Harry made sure he was touching his trunk and together they apparated away from 12 Grimmauld Place and to the apparition point at King's Cross Station just inside the magical barrier. When they arrived they saw that the area was already full of people, most of them families saying good-bye to their children for the year. At first glance it appeared to be like any other year, but then Harry's eyes were drawn to the uniformed Aurors walking around and watching everything with a careful eye. They appeared tense and ready for battle. Harry turned to see that Sirius had noticed their behavior as well. Even though they were fairly confident that there would be no attack here it still made both of them a little nervous.

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be a good day?" Sirius asked as he looked around. Harry nodded in agreement with the statement. For a moment they silently watched the crowds as if waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. "I almost forgot! I have something for you, Harry."

"Really?" Harry asked. "What is it?" Sirius reached into his coat and pulled out what appeared to be a simple mirror. Harry took it and inspected it with a confused look on his face. "What's it for?"

"I have another one just like it." Sirius explained. "And if you ever need to talk to me all you have to do is say my name and we'll be able to talk through these. Pretty neat, huh?"

"It's great!" Harry exclaimed. "Thanks, Sirius."

"No problem. Just try and stay out of trouble this year, ok?"

"I'll try." Harry laughed. "Promise."

"It won't be the same without you around." Sirius said thoughtfully.

"We'll still be able to talk through the mirrors." Harry replied. "And I'll be back for Christmas."

"Of course you will." Sirius agreed. "I better get going, there's no telling when the action is going to start today."

"Sirius..." Harry said uncertainly. He then hugged his godfather and Sirius hugged him back. "Thanks again for letting me live with you. This has been the best summer I've ever had."

"It's good to hear you say that, Harry." Sirius said. "Have fun at Hogwarts, and do try and learn something."

"I will." Harry promised. "Bye, Sirius." His godfather nodded and turned to leave and as he did Harry suspected that the man was feeling quite emotional. Once Sirius had reached the apparition point he turned and waved at Harry one last time before disappearing. Harry felt sad watching him go knowing how much his godfather had enjoyed having him live at 12 Grimmauld Place, but it was easier for him because he truly was excited to be going back to Hogwarts. Finally Harry turned and continued heading for the train. Happily, he saw a familiar face getting on to the train.

"Neville!" Harry yelled, as he quickly walked towards his friend. The other boy was just about to step onto the train when he heard Harry call to him.

"Hey, Harry!" Neville said, also happy to find a friend. "Want to go find somewhere to sit?"

"Sure." Harry agreed as they climbed onto the Hogwarts Express. The first few carriages they looked in already had other students sitting in them, but finally they found one that was empty and stepped inside. "So Neville, happy to be going back to school?"

"Definitely." Neville replied with a fierce nod. "I love Gran and all, but it gets boring there in the summers. Hogwarts is always much more exciting."

"Dangerous, exciting. Same thing I suppose." Harry said. "Well for me at least."

"I know." Neville agreed. "Oh yeah, guess what I got in the mail this week!"

"What?" Harry asked. Neville reached into his pocket and pulled out a gleaming badge painted scarlet and gold with a large letter 'P' stamped on the front. "Neville, is that a Prefect's badge?"

"Yes!" Neville happily confirmed. "I've never seen Gran prouder than when I got this."

"Congratulations." Harry said, happy for his friend but still a little disappointed he didn't get to be a Prefect. "I bet Hermione is the other Prefect for Gryffindor."

"Probably so." Neville agreed. "So do you know who the Defense professor is going to be?"

"No, but it won't be Professor Moody." Harry said. "He told me that he prefers the company of criminals to teenagers. I'm starting to believe that position really is cursed. We just can't keep a teacher for more than a year."

"It's been like that for decades." Neville reminded him. "Nobody really knows why." As Neville finished saying that the door to their compartment opened and Daphne walked in with a large smile on her face.

"Good morning." she said happily as she sat down next to Harry. "I love this time of year."

"You know I seem to remember most kids not liking when summer holidays ended." Harry said. "But I feel the same way. Even before Hogwarts it meant I got to get away from Dudley for a few hours out of the day."

"Hey, you made Prefect!" Daphne exclaimed, seeing the badge on Neville's shirt. "Congrats."

"What about you?" Harry asked. "I can't think of anyone in Slytherin who deserves it more."

"Ah but you forget that it doesn't really matter who deserves it in Slytherin." Daphne answered, shaking her head. "Rumor is that Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy are the new Prefects."

"Great, something else I'll have to listen to him brag about." Harry replied. "Although even I'll admit he wasn't as bad as usual after we saved his life from those Dementors." Daphne nodded in agreement with Harry's statement. Her housemate had indeed bothered her less than usual during the spring semester of the previous year. While she was thankful for the change, she also wondered how long it would last.

"So did you hear if our little trick with Lestrange did anything?" Daphne asked Harry. Neville looked on curiously so she explained to him what they had done.

"Sirius wasn't at the last Order meeting, so if something did happen he hasn't heard about to tell me." Harry explained. "And I didn't actually tell him about what we did either. He'd just gripe at me for not calling in help when we spotted Rodolphus. Plus, the fewer people who know about it the more likely it is to work again."

"Very true." Daphne agreed. "I did tell my dad though. He commends on a job well done." A moment later Hermione walked in the door with her Gryffindor Prefect badge proudly pinned to her robes. When Harry saw it he stood up and began applauding her, causing Hermione's cheeks to redden at the attention.

"Sit down, Harry." Hermione said. "That's an order from a Prefect."

"First day and you're already abusing the privileges." Harry replied. "What will the other Prefects say?" Everyone laughed as Hermione sat down on the bench next to Neville. The four friends began talking about all the things they were excited to do in the new year. A few minutes later the last warning that the train was about to leave was given and shortly after the Hogwarts Express left the station and they were on their way back to school.

The train had only been moving for a few minutes when the door to their compartment once again opened and Draco Malfoy took a step inside. A frown crept over his face which he quickly changed into a sneer. He had been looking for a place to sit, but this was obviously not it.

"Looks like I found where they put the trash." Draco said as he turned to leave. "I'll be going, wouldn't want anyone to think I'd associate with you."

"Hey Malfoy." Harry said, stopping him. "Where are your goons, Crabbe and Goyle? Or did they finally fail out?" Draco looked at Harry suspiciously, wondering if Harry was trying to set him up for something. Crabbe and Goyle were both at the funerals for their fathers and would not make it to Hogwarts until the following day, a fact that Draco knew but Harry clearly did not.

"That's none of your business, Potter." Draco finally replied before leaving the compartment and its inhabitants wondering what was going on.

Draco had heard how Crabbe and Goyle's fathers had died from his own father the night it had happened. Although Lucius Malfoy blamed the entire incident on Lestrange's stupidity and Crabbe and Goyle's carelessness Draco had to wonder just what kind of group the Death Eaters really were. His own father constantly ridiculed the people he worked with, and yet he never questioned his own place among them. Draco knew full well that someday he would be expected to follow in his father's footsteps but not for the first time he wondered if that was truly the best choice for him and the Malfoy family. Until recently Draco had always been in awe of his father, but that was changing. What if the elder Malfoy was mistaken in his gamble, which making yourself a servant of the Dark Lord obviously was? Draco sighed, not really knowing the answers to his questions or even why he was worrying about them to begin with.

The trip to Hogwarts was, as expected, rather uneventful. The large group of Aurors commanded to protect the Hogwarts Express did their job as well as could be asked but the attack the believed to be coming never materialized. The real battles were being fought elsewhere...

* * *

"Reducto!" Bellatrix Lestrange happily yelled as she continued to break down the walls of Amelia Bones' house. She and her group had been tasked with attacking the home of the Minister of Magic and capturing her if possible. Fortunately Minister Bones had not been home when the attack took place and Lestrange had to settle with destroying the large house.

"Bellatrix, the Aurors are on their way!" Wormtail cautiously warned. It was a bad idea to get into Bellatrix Lestranges way when she was casting curses.

"Oh fine, you pathetic waste of flesh." Bellatrix sighed. "Tell everyone we're leaving, but first... FIENDFYRE!" The magical, and almost uncontrollable, flames leapt from her wand and continued to grow as it fed on what was left of the house. Though she did not know it, and probably would not have cared if she had, one of her fellow Death Eaters was still inside the house and perished as a result of her spell. That was the only casualty her team would suffer.

As the flames continued to rise and engulf the surrounding area Bellatrix cheered and laughed. There were few things she liked more than causing chaos. Wormtail and the others apparated away; most afraid of the fire, the approaching Aurors, and the insane woman who had been appointed to lead their team.

Sturgis Podmore had been assigned the task of watching the home of Minister Bones which everyone agreed was a likely target. At the first signs of trouble he had requested help but by the time the others arrived the Death Eaters had left and it was clear the house would be a total loss. A normal fire could quickly be extinguished but Fiendfyre was completely different. Only the combined efforts of Mad Eye Moody and Bill Weasley could finally put out the fire.

* * *

Walden Macnair and his group of Death Eaters were not ordered to fight at all that day. Instead they had spent the morning gathering together a group of a dozen giants and convincing them to attack the village of Godric's Hollow. Voldemort had picked the target himself, enjoying the idea of not only destroying the childhood home of Albus Dumbledore but also the town in which he had been temporarily defeated so many years ago by a infant Harry Potter. After many hours of work the giants were finally ready and the Death Eaters commanded them to attack.

Within moments panic began to spread in the village. The giants knocked down the walls of houses and business, picked up and threw cars as if they were children's toys, and attempted to stomp on any person that got in their way. The Death Eaters stood at the top of a nearby hill and watched Godric's Hollow be torn apart. Fortunately a magical member of the community was able to tell the Ministry of Magic about the attack and they sent their giant fighting squad there as soon as possible.

Sirius was among the group that arrived to battle the giants. They knew, however, that with only twenty wizards in their group it would be nearly impossible to defeat the giants. Working together they began to target the giants one by one, first luring one away from the others and then launching an all out assault on the isolated giant. Luckily the giants were not very intelligent and did not catch on to the Auror's plans. Slowly the number of giants began to fall until there were only two left standing. They, however, were also the two biggest and seemed reluctant to separate.

"We're going to have to take them both at once!" Sirius yelled. By this point he, like the rest of his team, was exhausted. It had taken them almost two hours to get to this point and by the end of the first hour it had become clear to all of them that they were no longer fighting to protect the village. Godric's Hollow had been uttlerly destroyed. Every building in sight had sustained some damage and in one of the rare calm moments of the day Sirius had stopped to wonder how the Aurors were going to explain this to the muggles.

The Aurors had taken losses as well. Two had been killed by the giants and three injured severely enough that they were forced to leave. That left fifteen of them to fight the two biggest giants. When he was sure allies were ready, Sirius led them towards the giants.

"Blind them!" Sirius commanded, casting a Conjunctivis Curse towards the eyes of one of the giants. The others obeyed his command and followed suit. Many of their spells either missed or were not strong enough to have an effect, but thankfully by the end of their barrage both giants could no longer see due to their eyes being swollen shut. The giants reacted to this situation by panicking and swinging their fists wildly. One of the giants began clumsily walking towards them and an Auror, fearing the giant was about to attack, fired a blasting curse towards it. This, of course, only angered the giant and it lunged towards the source of the attack and crashed down on the unfortunate Auror instantly killing him.

"No!" Sirius yelled angrily. "Attack on my command! NOW!" This time a variety of curses hit the giants from all sides and the combined efforts of the fourteen remaining wizards was enough to knock the huge creature unconscious and leave it bleeding to death in the middle of the street.

"Only one more!" one of the Aurors said as they turned to face the last giant. It was rubbing its eyes and blinking constantly while the team got in position around it. Suddenly the giant lowered its hands at it was clear the blinding spell had warn off. The giant let out a huge roar and began running towards Sirius. Sirius knew that there was no chance he could outrun an angry giant and did the one thing he knew it would not be expecting: running towards the giant. Spells rained down on the giant, but without any obvious effect. It continued stomping towards Sirius and the gap between them was closing quickly. As they approached each other the giant leaned forward to grab Sirius but missed as him as Sirius ran under the giants legs. The giant kept trying to reach through his legs but the awkwardness of the position and his forward momentum caused him to tumble forward and crash hard on the ground.

"Confringo!" Sirius yelled as the giant attempted to get up. The spell hit the giant in the forehead and caused a huge wound to open up. Moments later spells from the other Aurors rained down on the creature and finally ended the battle.

"A pity, it's over." Macnair said to the other Death Eaters as they watched the Aurors regroup. "And that's twelve less giants."

"What about the Aurors?" a junior Death Eater asked, eager to prove himself. "Should we attack?"

"That's not what we were told to do, so no." Macnair informed him. "We're through here. Let's go."

Moments later the Death Eaters were gone. Elsewhere in the country other targets were being attacked as well. The Order of the Phoenix sent most of its forces to counter an assault on Diagon Alley led by Lucius Malfoy and the Carrows. Nine innocent bystanders were killed by the Death Eaters before the Order, led by Professor Dumbledore, could arrive. Dumbledore had expected to find Voldemort leading this attack, but no one seemed to have any idea where he was. The Death Eaters, knowing they were no match for Dumbledore, apparated away before the Order could inflict any real damage on them.

* * *

Shortly before the Death Eaters launched their assault on Diagon Alley Severus Snape walked into the Ministry of Magic, accompanied by a tall man in plain, dark robes. His skin was pale but not unordinary so. He had black hair and dark brown eyes. Some might have even considered the man attractive. Together the two men approached the check in station at the front of the Ministry where an overweight wizard sat and inspected all those entering the building.

"Names and destinations, please." the guard asked, not even bothering to look up from his clipboard.

"Severus Snape." Professor Snape said. "Department of Mysteries."

"And you, sir?" the guard asked, finally looking up.

"Thomas Riddle, also to the Department of Mysteries." Lord Voldemort replied with a smile. It had been so long since he had walked among the people in disguise that the whole situation greatly amused him. The guard waved them through and the two men continued on into the Ministry towards the Department of Mysteries. "How do you like my glamour, Severus?"

"Flawless, my lord." Snape answered. "No one could tell it was a glamour at all."

"I do not doubt the quality of my work, I was speaking of my appearance." Voldemort replied. "This is what I once looked like, so many years and so many rituals ago. Of course I am more than human now, it is only fitting I no longer look like you mere mortals."

"Of course, sir." Snape agreed. "Where in the Department of Mysteries are we going?"

"The Hall of Prophecy, of course." Voldemort answered. "You attempted to bring me the prophecy once before, it is appropriate that you are with me today when I finally hear it for myself. Dumbledore and his foolish Order would never expect me to simply walk through the front door and ask to hear it as is my right."

"No, my lord." Snape said. "They expected you to fight for it."

"While entertaining, that would be unnecessary." Voldemort replied. They had finally reached the Hall of Prophecy which was guarded only by the fact that touching a prophecy ball that did not belong to a person would drive them insane. After a few minutes of searching, Voldemort found the glowing ball containing the prophecy concerning him and Harry Potter. Neither he nor Snape had ever heard the complete prophecy. "Shall we?" Voldemort asked as he activated the ball. The light inside flashed and a ghostly voice began speaking from inside it.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches..." the voice began, confirming to Snape and Voldemort they had found the right one. "Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

"Very interesting." Voldemort said as the light in the ball dimmed. His brow furrowed in thought as he considered the meaning of the prophecy. Likewise Snape was attempting to determine what it could possibly mean. "Come, Severus. Our work here is done."

The dark lord and Snape left the Ministry of Magic having completed their mission without needing to use a single offensive spell.

* * *

Author's Note:

Lots of great comments on the last chapter, which I definitely appreciate. The good guys are trying to fight a smarter war, which means using their enemies weaknesses against them. And now we're finally back at Hogwarts, where who knows what this year will bring!


	38. Chapter 38

As Hogwarts finally came into view Harry couldn't help but smile and squeeze Daphne's hand. She laughed at her boyfriend's obvious excitement but was actually happy for him. It was good to see him this way. They, along with Hermione and Neville, were riding in thestral pulled carriages towards Hogwarts while the first years took their boat ride to the castle. All of their group had witnessed death in the preceding months and were now able to see the strange creatures. Hermione knew from reading 'Hogwarts: A History' that the thestrals had always been there but it was still unnerving to see the skeletal horse like animal.

"They're really kind of beautiful, in a way." Daphne commented as she stared at the pair of thestrals pulling their carriage. "Not cute like a newborn crup or anything, but still they have a certain elegance that you don't see in many other animals."

"I don't know..." Neville said uncertainly. "I'll just stick with my frog Trevor. He doesn't have to worry about being replaced by a thestral." Neville then began feeling through his pockets and looking though his bags. "Oh bollocks, I've lost Trevor again."

"I'm sure he'll find his way back, Neville." Hermione assured him. "He always does."

"Or you could just summon him back to you." Harry suggested. "It should work."

"You think so?" Neville asked. At Harry's nod he stood up in the carriage, took out his wand, and said "Accio Trevor!" For a moment nothing happened, but then Neville was struck in the back by his summoned frog who then landed with a loud thump in the floor of the carriage. "Sorry Trevor, are you ok?" Neville asked the clearly startled amphibian. Trevor croaked angrily at his owner before leaping into Neville's pocket to rest.

"I wish we would have known that spell in first year." Hermione said as she laughed at the scene in front of her.

"Sure, but if you had you wouldn't have met me on the train that day." Harry reminded her. "And then who knows what else could have changed."

"You're right, you know." Daphne agreed. "Little changes can have profound and far reaching consequences. The future remains unwritten."

"Just like that transfiguration essay I was supposed to do." Neville said.

"You better get on that before Hermione here decides to make you a schedule telling you exactly what you are supposed to be studying every hour of the day." Harry replied. "Not that I don't appreciate your schedules, Hermione."

"You're just lucky I bother to waste my time trying to help you." Hermione said jokingly before turning to Daphne as if preparing to relate some secret to her. "He would have failed all four years of History of Magic if it weren't for my notes."

"You're the only one who can manage to stay awake during that bloody class!" Harry said. "All of Gryffindor and half of Hufflepuff use those notes. In fact, Fred and George have been selling copies to the younger kids for years now."

"They never told me that!" Hermione said. "And I certainly haven't gotten paid for any of my work either."

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you then..." Harry replied. The others in the cart broke out into laughs which only ended when they realized their trip was over and they were finally back at Hogwarts. The centuries old castle towered above them with light pouring out of the windows into the dark night. Harry could remember how awed he had been when he had first seen the castle so many years ago and even now the sight made his heart leap for joy. It truly felt, more than any other place he had lived, like home. Together the four returning students walked into the castle and towards the Great Hall. Once there Harry kissed Daphne before they parted ways, he headed towards the Gryffindor table and she towards the Slytherin table. As the students continued to fill the Great Hall Harry noticed that the teacher's table was still mostly empty.

"Still no word on who the Defense teacher is going to be?" Harry asked Hermione as they took their seats.

"No. Whoever it is they didn't ride the train in." Hermione answered. "The rumor is that Professor Dumbledore had some problems trying to find a replacement for Professor Moody, but I'm sure he found somebody decent."

"Don't be so sure." Harry replied. "Remember Lockhart? Or Quirrel?"

As the flow of students into the Hall began to decrease the teachers began arriving. All of them were familiar faces though, giving them no clue on who the new teacher would be. As the last students finally took their seats a door in the back opened and Professor Dumbledore walked out with Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and Professor Snape at his side. Dumbledore looked as calm as ever, but Shacklebolt and Snape were clearly unhappy about something. All three then took a seat at the teacher's table.

"It's Shacklebolt!" Harry said happily. "I should have known. Dumbledore did say something about him having a chance to encourage more people to become Aurors at that meeting we listened to. This must be how."

"I wonder what they were talking about that had him and Snape so upset." Hermione wondered. They, of course, had not heard anything about the numerous Death Eater attacks of the day. Harry shrugged in response, not knowing the answer to her question either. Their conversation was then interrupted by the new first year students being ushered in to the Great Hall. Harry marveled at how small they looked but knew he had once been in their position. The Sorting Hat sang a song encouraging school unity in these troubled timed before beginning to sort the new students. They seemed to be split fairly evenly across the four houses as was usually the case. Each house cheered in turn as another member was added to their ranks. When the sorting ceremony was finally over the opening feast magically appeared on the table and conversation seemed to cease as the hungry students began to eat. A few seats down on the table Harry noticed that Ron's eating habits had not changed at all over the summer, even if his attitude had slightly improved.

"Attention!" Professor Dumbledore called from the front of the room. All eyes turned to him as he stood to address the students. "Welcome, everyone, to another exciting year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I encourage all of you to take full advantage of the opportunity you are provided to educate yourselves which is especially important during these difficult times. As you may know, Lord Voldemort has returned and our would is once more at war. Even today several battles were fought against his forces. You, dear children, are the future of our world. And someday soon the burden of deciding its fate will rest on your shoulders."

The students began to softly talk amongst themselves, most wondering what had happened during their ride on the train. Dumbledore was forced to tap a spoon against his glass to regain their attention.

"Professor Moody has unfortunately not returned this year, but let me assure you that he felt teaching you was the greatest joy his life had ever known." Harry tried to hide his laugh, knowing how Moody really felt about teaching. "This year Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taught by Professor Kingsley Shacklebolt, an Auror on loan from the Ministry of Magic whose years of experience will be a valuable resource as he attempts to prepare you for not just your OWLs and NEWTs but for the future. Before we sing the school song I would like to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest remains forbidden and Mr Filch has an updated list of banned item on his door for those of you who are interested. Now, the music please."

With that everyone began singing in a variety of different ways to many different tunes. Dumbldore happily waved his wand as if he were conducting a symphony through the entire thing while beside him even some of the teachers seemed to be mildly annoyed by the annual event. Eventually the song ended and with it the feast did as well. Hermione and Neville, as new Prefects, had to rush out of their seats to help escort the first years to the Gryffindor dorms. The rest of the students were free to mingle. Harry began to get up from his seat when he saw Daphne rushing towards him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked once she had made her way through the crowds to him. She shook her head no and sat down beside him close enough so that no one could hear what they were talking about.

"I found out why Crabbe and Goyle weren't on the train." Daphne said. From the look on her face Harry could tell the reason was good news.

"Well, why?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy was explaining all of this to Nott, and I just happened to overhear him." Daphne explained. "Anyway, Crabbe and Goyle's fathers were killed at a Death Eater meeting in a fight with Rodolphus Lestrange."

"The Draught of Rage, it must have worked." Harry realized.

"Exactly." Daphne agreed. "But none of them seem to know that, Malfoy thought that Lestrange was just drunk. The best part is what happened after that, Voldemort killed Lestrange as punishment for his actions."

"Brilliant!" Harry said happily. "So we took him and two other out without putting ourselves in any danger at all. If only it could always be that simple."

"I know." Daphne replied. "Now only Bellatrix is left of the Lestrange's. We're one step closer to getting that Horcrux."

"She still wants to kill me and Sirius." Harry reminded her. "She'll be coming at us eventually, don't doubt that. We'll just have to be ready. So, what about Crabbe and Goyle? I guess they will be coming back?"

"Unfortunately so." Daphne confirmed. "Probably by tomorrow in fact. But it might not matter so much. Malfoy seems different this year. Still a jerk of course, but quieter. Something is going on with him but I can't tell what it is."

"He's still potentially dangerous, Daphne." Harry reminded her. "Don't expect him to ever have a change of heart."

Daphne nodded and was about to say something when they realized they were being watched. They looked up from the table to see Professor Snape standing over them looking annoyed, as usual.

"Dumbledore wishes to speak with you, Potter." Snape informed Harry. "Now."

"I'll talk to you later, ok?" Harry told Daphne as he got up to follow Snape. He gave her one last kiss before turning to catch up with Snape who had chosen not to wait on Harry to say good-bye to Daphne. Harry walked behind Snape, not really caring to talking to the man, as they made their way through the many passages leading to Dumbledore's office. Once there Snape spoke the password which was, to Harry's surprise and amusement, "Canary Cream" before they both climbed the stairs and entered the office. It was exactly as Harry remembered it being from the last time he was in it, even down to Dumbledore sitting at his desk with a worried look on his face.

"Ah, Harry, so good of you to come." Dumbledore began, motioning for Harry to sit down. Snape took the other empty chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. "I'm afraid there isn't much good news to share with you."

"What's wrong?" Harry demanded to know. "Is Sirius ok?"

"Yes, I assure you Sirius is just fine." Dumbledore replied. "Tired from fighting giants all day, but otherwise unharmed. The good news is that the Order suffered no casualties today, however we were unable to stop Voldemort from accomplishing almost everything he set out to do."

"What?" Harry asked, relieved to know that his godfather was ok.

"His forces struck at a variety of targets, but I was unaware of his true goals until Severus returned shortly before the opening feast." Dumbledore began. With a heavy sigh, he continued explaining. "Voldemort has learned the full contents of the prophecy. That was his goal all along, the rest was merely a distraction."

"But how?" Harry asked. "Who told him?"

"No one did." Snape answered. "He simply walked into the Hall of Prophecy and listened to it, as was his right as one of the people it described."

"And no one in the Ministry tried to stop him?" Harry asked disbelievingly. "Why not?"

"He wore a glamour." Dumbledore said. "And when asked for his name he simply gave it. The Ministry is apparently on guard against Lord Voldemort but not Tom Riddle. A mistake I am as shocked as you to hear about. Certainly it is not common knowledge that Riddle became Voldemort, but enough know that it should have been caught."

"Why don't more people know?" Harry asked. "Wouldn't it help if people knew that Voldemort was really a half-blood?"

"The Daily Prophet would never print such allegations, even though they are true." Dumbledore answered sadly. "But perhaps it would be wise to make that knowledge more available to the general public. Though it may simply anger Voldemort."

"The Death Eaters would never believe you." Snape commented. "Even the older ones who knew him as Tom Riddle first would never believe that the heir of Slytherin, which the Dark Lord certainly is, could be anything but a pureblood. It would be a waste of effort."

"I don't believe you." Harry replied. "I think it's worth it, and I'm going to try." Snape shrugged as if Harry's commitment made no difference to him.

"As of now we do not know how Voldemort has interpreted the prophecy, or what he plans on doing with this new knowledge." Dumbledore explained. "This is a situation which I had hoped we could avoid."

"Why?" Harry wondered. "It doesn't really tell him anything he didn't already know, did it? The only new thing in there is that now he knows one of us is going to have to kill the other one. And I bet you he already planned on killing me himself."

"This is true." Snape confirmed to Dumbledore's chagrin. "Standing orders are to capture you and bring you to the Dark Lord if the opportunity presents itself. I, of course, am exempt from that command because I am far more valuable here spying on the Order of the Phoenix."

"You know sometimes I still wonder if you're loyal to anyone but yourself." Harry said. Snape once again shrugged, not at all interested in what Harry believed.

"I fear that Voldemort may see you as more of a threat now than he did before, Harry." Dumbledore said. "Before his anger towards you was solely because of your role in his downfall, but now he knows that one day you will be able to challenge him as an equal. He will not want to allow that to happen."

"So what do I do now?" Harry asked. "I've been working as hard as I can on dueling and learning more powerful magic but I know it's still not enough to beat Voldemort. Plus he's still not mortal."

"I am working on that." Dumbledore explained. "Now that it has been confirmed his snake Nagini is indeed a Horcrux we have been working on destroying it. Unfortunately the beast rarely leaves Voldemort's presence. I am working on ways to draw it out, perhaps then we can strike."

"Good." Harry said, glad to know that Dumbledore was at least working on the problem.

"I thought you might also want to know why you were not picked as Prefect." Dumbledore said. Harry was surprised by the comment. Although he did think he deserved it he also believed that it was a good thing that Neville got it. He hoped the recognition would increase his friend's confidence. "Clearly you would make a fine Prefect, but I did not wish to burden you with any other additional responsibilities. I suspect you will be busy enough as it is this year."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Harry asked nervously.

"Have you ever had a calm year at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore replied. Harry had to admit Dumbledore had a point, but he wondered what else was going on. "I know of no specific threats concerning you, but as always I would advise you to be on guard. Other than that, I hope you have a good year. You may return to your dorm."

"Ok, Professor." Harry said as he stood and left the room. Snape stayed behind to talk to Dumbledore alone, but they waiting until Harry was downstairs and could no longer hear anything to begin their conversation. Harry was once again unsure of what to do about Dumbledore. He firmly believed that they should be on the attack against Voldemort but there was little he could do about it from within Hogwarts. He would simply have to hope that Sirius and Daniel Greengrass were doing there best to oppose the Death Eaters and Voldemort on their own while he was at Hogwarts.

After a few minutes of searching before remembering that he had the Marauder's Map, Harry was able to find Daphne waiting for him in the unused classroom they had practiced magic in the previous year before moving to the Room of Requirement. They spent an hour or so discussing all of the things they had learned and what it meant before realizing they had already missed curfew. Deciding they had already broken the rules and they weren't likely to get into any more trouble if caught anyway, they stayed in the room to enjoy some of the better parts of being boyfriend and girlfriend before finally calling it a night and heading back to the respective dorms.

* * *

"Your homework for next class is twelve inches of parchment detailing in which ways a zombie is different than an inferius. Class dismissed. Oh, and Potter. Stay behind a moment."

The class of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws laughed, wondering what Harry had done to get in trouble on the first day, but Harry himself was fairly certain that he had done nothing wrong. Professor Shacklebolt's class had been very interesting, mostly due to his descriptions of his encounters with the various forms of the living dead and how he had battled them. Better yet, Harry knew that unlike Professor Lockhart, Professor Shacklebolt wasn't just lying or exaggerating.

"Can I help you, sir?" Harry asked as he watched the new Professor organizing his things in preparation for the next class.

"I got a letter from Alastor Moody this morning about you." Shacklebolt informed him. "He says that you two have spent the last month beating the hell out of each other and that he now considers you a wizard of 'decent skill and intelligence'. Don't be fooled, from Mad-Eye Moody that is high praise indeed."

"That's very nice of him." Harry replied. "He was a great teacher."

"I only wish he enjoyed teaching more, then perhaps he would be here instead of me." Shacklebolt said with a sigh. "But there are certainly worse jobs. Now, Moody requested that I pick up on your training where he left off. Are you interested?"

"Yes!" Harry answered happily, eager to test his skills against another opponent. "So will it be like my lessons with Professor Moody?"

"No, probably not." Shacklebolt replied. "Alastor is a far better dueler than I am, Harry. And if you can come close to beating him then there is little use in us spending all of our time dueling. What I aim to teach you is a better sense of control and efficient use of your magic. I have not been gifted with an excess of magical power like Moody or Dumbledore, but I have won where others have lost because I make the most out of what strength I do have."

"How do you do that?" Harry asked.

"Part of our time will be spent going over wand movements and incantations, making sure that you are casting spells in the most efficient way possible." Shacklebolt explained. "That's the physical side of it, but most of the training is mental. Your frame of mind when you are performing a spell can have a powerful impact on how well the spell works. Alastor mentioned he noticed some inconsistencies with the strength behind your spells."

"He says they're more powerful when I'm angry." Harry agreed. "Sometimes it's like I lose control and am just fighting on instinct."

"That's not always a bad thing, Harry." Shacklebolt commented. "Especially once you have honed your instincts to respond how you would if given the time to think your actions through. Don't worry about it too much, we'll find a way to bring out your full potential. Let me know when you have your schedule set and know when we can work on this."

"I will." Harry promised. "Thanks Professor Shacklebolt."

Professor Shacklebolt smiled and waved him off as the students for his next class began filing into the room. Harry realized that he too had a class to get to and ran out of the classroom, hoping he could make it to the Charms classroom in the few minutes he had before class began. Luckily for him, he slid into his seat just moments before Professor Flitwick began to call roll. Harry smiled as he took out his quill and began to take notes, still happy to be back at Hogwarts.

* * *

The rest of the week passed by in a blur for Harry. Dumbledore had been right when he predicted that he would have a busy year and by the end of the week Harry was secretly happy that he had not been selected as a Prefect. The amount of homework a fifth year student was expected to do seemed to be double that for a fourth year, a fact Hermione explained was due to the need to be prepared for the OWLs at the end of the year. In addition to that Harry also had to find time to spend with Daphne and his own independent training. He had not yet begun to work with Shacklebolt, although that would start the following week. Also Angelina Johnson, Gryffindor's new Quidditch captain, had corned him in the halls twice demanding to know when he was free for Quidditch Practice and for the new Keeper try-outs. Gryffindor faced the difficult task of replacing Oliver Wood who had after graduation earned a spot playing for Puddlemere United. No one seemed to know who was the favorite to replace him, though it was rumored that Ron Weasley and Cormac McLaggen were both interested in the position. The Weasley twins, who were vehemently opposed to allowing McLaggen to join the team, were already planning on ways to prevent him from doing so. Daring him to eat a pound of Doxy eggs the day before try-outs had already been suggested.

It was easy to forget that outside the castle walls a war was being fought that involved many of their friends and family members on both sides. No major news had been reported in that first week other than the events of September 1, and although the war was still often discussed many found it easier to just ignore the topic. Harry had expected to hear more taunts and insults from Slytherin, but with Draco Malfoy reluctant to take up the leadership role for that what trouble there was from Slytherin was far less serious than it could have been. Daphne reported to him that the Slytherin common room had become an odd place, with almost no one sure where the other's loyalties lay. Crabbe and Goyle had returned, as expected, and immediately been taken under the wing of Professor Snape. The Slytherins weren't very surprised by this, it was common knowledge that Snape would take care of them as well as he could and with their fathers dead they would need extra help.

Meanwhile the war continued, although the Daily Prophet refused to acknowledge that fact. As in the first war disappearances were commonplace. Many of those were simply people escaping the war, but others were casualties of it. The major offensive for the light side was the fight against the giants, now being unquestionably led by Sirius Black. Over half of the huge, destructive creatures had been killed since their arrival in England with more falling daily. Despite Voldemort and the Death Eater's efforts to control them it was simply not in their nature to sit around and wait for orders. And so at the first opportunity they were given they would run free, happily crushing everything in sight and bringing the attention of Sirius's team of giant fighters down on them. Their numbers were dwindling, and it was hoped that the giant threat could be eliminated by the end of the year.

While Sirius fought giants and Harry sat in school, Daniel Greengrass was not idle. His efforts were mostly political and economic, but no less important than Sirius's. Even Voldemort needed funds to conduct his war against magical Britain, and if he could be deprived of that the war against him stood a much better chance of succeeding. Unfortunately the goblins had been unwilling to help him or take a side in the conflict, but even so Greengrass had used his wealth and influence to attack known financers of the Dark Lord. Progress began slowly and with much difficulty, but with time the situation was improving.

But, unfortunately, the Dark Lord's forces were also striking back. Every day their numbers grew, sadly due to the fact that their views were supported by a large portion of the public. And so the war continued with neither side seeming to be closer to victory than the other.

* * *

The Dark Lord Voldemort sat in his throne room contemplating the prophecy, as he had been doing for the past several days. Like Dumbledore, he believed in the power of prophecy without question and felt confident this was a legitimate one. And unfortunately, this prophecy held little good news for him.

Parts of it were familiar to him. The Potters and the Longbottoms had both fit the description of having a child as the seventh month died and defying him three times, and though he had been certain before that the prophecy referred to Harry Potter the line about "marking him" had left no doubt. No, his focus on the Potter boy was absolutely correct. The next line, however, did worry him. In what ways was Potter his equal? And what power did the boy possess that he knew not? Was it even possible for him to learn of that hidden power or did the prophecy negate that possibility? It would be foolish of him not to attempt to learn it.

The next line was perhaps the most interesting one. "...And either must die at the hand of the other..." It meant not only that one of them would eventually kill the other, a seemingly inevitable event, but until that happened they both enjoyed some measure of invincibility. No wonder the boy had such incredible luck. Nothing, other than the Dark Lord himself, could kill him. True, it also suggested that Potter might be able to kill him as well but he had taken measures to prevent that from happening hadn't he? No, the only logical way to interpret the prophecy was as a guarantee that Harry Potter would eventually die by his hand. Of course, after that happened the prophecy would be fulfilled and then anyone could potentially slay him but the fact that he was immortal prevented that from happening.

All things considered Voldemort believed the prophecy to be slightly underwhelming, however it did tell him the Harry Potter held an unknown power. And perhaps that could be taken from him and added to his own. Yes, Voldemort could envision it now. Potter's death would set about a chain of events that resulted in his unrivaled domination of the muggle and magical worlds. But first he must learn of this hidden power, and to do that Voldemort would need to watch Harry even closer.

The first option he considered was to use his spy, Severus Snape, to gather information on Harry. Unfortunately, even if Voldemort assumed Snape was completely loyal to him, this offered problems. Snape hated the boy, of that Voldemort had no doubt. His hatred tended to cloud his judgment however. Snape was wrong to believe that Potter's successes came merely as a result of dumb luck, though that had certainly played a part. Snape would never be able to recognize the strength Harry held. Besides, he couldn't risk Dumbledore learning about his plans.

Another method would be to task the children of one of his Death Eater's to spy on Potter, but Voldemort did not really consider that idea viable. He disliked children and did not think they were truly capable of following orders. The son of Malfoy would have been an obvious choice, but he and Potter were rivals which would hamper his ability to gather information on the target. This was not the job for a child.

That left him with few good options. Voldemort had no choice but to give this task to the only person he truly trusted: himself. Or, to be more precise, a part of himself he held full control over.

"_Nagini!_" Voldemort hissed in Parseltongue. Yes, this was the best way to attack the problem. Soon Harry Potter's secret would be revealed and then his short, pathetic life would end. And then, with any luck, the rest of the world would fall right behind him.


	39. Chapter 39

As Harry walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom he quickly realized that his lessons with Shacklebolt would be nothing like his lessons with Moody. A space had been cleared in the middle of the room but not for dueling, instead a pair of mats had been placed on the floor and his teacher was currently sitting on one seemingly unaware of his presence. Shacklebolt had his eyes closed and appeared to be in deep meditation. Harry frowned, wondering how exactly this was supposed to help him.

"Don't look so upset." Shacklebolt said to Harry's surprise. Shacklebolt still had his eyes closed and Harry wondered how his teacher had seen the expression on his face. His Occlumency shields were still firmly in place so he knew it could not have been that. "Sit down Harry, we have much to discuss."

"What were you doing?" Harry asked as he sat down on the empty mat across from Shacklebolt. Harry attempted to mimic the position his teacher was sitting in but found it to be quite uncomfortable.

"It's a technique that helps me focus. I find that it provides me with a greater connection to the magic within me." Shacklebolt explained. "We'll get to that, but not tonight. Soon perhaps. For now I want you to think about a few things. Where do you think the magic you use comes from?"

"I was born with it." Harry replied after thinking about it for a few moments. "I don't think anyone knows why some people are magical and some aren't. Hermione thinks it is genetic and that's why magical parents are more likely to have magical children. Squibs and muggleborns are the exceptions, I guess."

"But that is an answer to the question of why you can use magic, not where it comes from." Shacklebolt said. "Do you think your body produces the magic itself or does your body absorb the magic from the world around you?"

"I'm not sure." Harry answered truthfully.

"It's a little of both, actually." Shacklebolt replied. "In a way you are not only just surrounded by magic but it is also a part of you. Think back to when you cast a spell, do you feel the pull on your magic? Where?"

"It feels like it is flowing through my hand to my wand." Harry said after thinking about the question briefly. Although the discussion was interesting, he wondered how it was going to help him.

"I see." Shacklebolt replied. "Let's do an experiment. Take out your wand and concentrate on the connection between it and you. Feel the magic that dwells in all parts of you, not just your hand. Now, cast Lumos."

"Lumos." Harry said softly. The tip of his wand immediately lit up so brightly that Harry and Shacklebolt were forced to turn their heads away from it. Harry cancelled the spell and then looked curiously at his wand. "That came out a lot stronger than I meant for it to."

"And that's the lesson I wanted you to learn tonight." Shacklebolt said happily. "There is more to casting a spell than simply saying the words and waving your wand. The importance of concentration and frame of mind are not to be ignored. Think about that as you practice. Remember that every spell is different and the approach that produces the best results for one spell might not work for others."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"Think about the Patronus charm." Shacklebolt suggested. "Your emotions and frame of mind are vital to its success. But if you tried to cast the Cruciatus curse like that it would work at all. You'll see for yourself though."

"You're going to want me to use the Cruciatus?" Harry said in surprise.

"Yes, I am." Shacklebolt confirmed. "It's important for you to know and feel the difference. That's all for tonight though. You did just fine, Harry.

Harry got up from his seat and put his wand away. He realized he had been wrong to doubt that the lessons with Shacklebolt would be as helpful as the ones with Moody. The two men were very different and therefore had different ways of teaching but in the end they were both powerful wizards who wished to see him improve. He owed it to both of them to give it his all.

"Thank you, Professor Shacklebolt." Harry said as he walked towards the door. "I won't let you down."

"I know you won't, Harry." Shacklebolt laughed. "Have a good night."

Harry nodded and left the room, still thinking about what his tutor had said and eager to practice what he had learned.

* * *

Unknown to either of them, their entire conversation had been overheard by Nagini who was quietly resting in the walls of the classroom. Getting in to and moving around Hogwarts had been amazingly easy for the snake. Although Nagini was quite large she was nothing compared to the basilisk who had previously made the castle its home. Due to her size Nagini could even go places the basilisk could not, like the hollow space in the wall she currently occupied. Sensing that her target had left the room Nagini slowly moved back to the tunnel that she knew could take her anywhere she wanted to go within the castle.

A problem the living Horcrux faced was that although she could usually track her prey she was frequently having difficulty listening in on his conversations which was what Lord Voldemort was really interested in. To be able to listen in on what Harry was saying Nagini had to actually be in the room and that often exposed her to the danger of being caught. That, her master had stressed, must not happen. So far no one suspected that she had taken up residence in the walls and hidden spaces of Hogwarts and for now her orders were to do nothing more. And so, she waited and hoped that soon she would be allowed to hunt.

* * *

Hours later Harry sat alone in the Gryffindor common room reading his Potions textbook hoping that Snape would go a little easier on him this year, but knowing it was unlikely to happen. In their first lesson earlier in the week Snape had cornered Neville and demanded to know what he had done to improve so much. Neville's answer, that Harry had helped him study, had enraged the potions professor and led to him insulting Harry for attempting to do his job. That Neville had improved was obviously not important to Snape.

The sound of the door opening caught Harry's attention and caused him to look up from his work. It was well after curfew and he expected it to be Neville and Hermione who were out making the rounds as part of the Prefect duties. But instead it turned out to be Ron and Ginny, both looking exhausted.

"What are you two doing?" Harry asked curiously.

"Going to bed." Ginny answered with a yawn. "Goodnight." The youngest Weasley walked up the stairs to the girl's dorms and into her room, leaving Harry and Ron alone in the room. Ron waved at his sister as she left before crashing down on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"So, why were you out after curfew?" Harry asked again.

"You're not going to tell Hermione and Neville are you?" Ron asked worriedly. "I doubt either of them would go easy on me."

"No, I'm not a Prefect after all." Harry replied. "Besides you know how often I go out after curfew." Ron laughed and nodded as he remembered their adventures from previous years.

"Well I heard that the try-outs for the keeper spot on the Quidditch team are coming up this weekend." Ron began explaining. "And I thought that I might have a shot at it so I asked Ginny to help me practice. When we play at home she's usually a chaser and is pretty good. She'll probably make the team next year when there is an opening. I always play keeper anyway and I don't think I'm too bad. You've seen us play, what do you think?"

"You have as good a chance of making it as anybody." Harry answered with a shrug. "In fact you probably know better than I do who your competition is going to be."

"A bunch of younger kids are saying they want to try out, but none of them are supposed to be any good." Ron said. "But that sixth year, Cormac whatever, is apparently an amazing keeper. Or at least that's what he's telling everybody. I know Fred and George can't stand him though, so hopefully that will help me out a little."

"Why don't they like him anyway?" Harry asked. "Neither of them would give me a real answer."

"On the train this year he said something pretty nasty to Katie Bell." Ron said. "They didn't tell me what either."

"Oh." Harry said, wondering what it could have been to upset the twins so much. He did however know that Fred and George were just about the last people in the world you wanted angry at you. It almost made him feel bad for the guy, but then again Katie was his friend too and anyone who hurt her deserved what they got. "If that's the case then there's no way he will ever make it on the team, even if he is the best keeper out there."

"That's what I thought, but you never know." Ron replied. "Hopefully I won't need the help, I don't want to be the only Weasley other than Percy not to make the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

"Good luck then." Harry said. He and Ron had not spoken to each other much in the past year. In fact this had been one of the longer conversations they had recently had. Perhaps, he thought, Ron was growing up. He suspected a year ago Ron probably would have just shown up at try-outs and hoped he made the team, but at least this year he was putting some effort into it. "I'll be cheering for you to make it."

"Thanks Harry." Ron said as he sat up on the couch. "I appreciate it." Harry nodded and returned his attention back to the book. Ron remained sitting there for a few more minutes before yawning and walking up the dorms. A half hour later, after finally reaching the point where he could not stand the thought of reading anymore about Potions, Harry also left the common room and headed for bed. Another peaceful day at Hogwarts ended, but peace did not extend everywhere and even there it was bound to end.

* * *

Sirius checked his watch again, wondering where Daniel Greengrass was. It was well after midnight and only an hour earlier he had received a floo call from the man to meet him here, in the middle of a muggle park. Daniel had not said why it was so important that they meet, but Sirius had come anyway. Sirius quickly grew tired of waiting and was about to begin searching for his ally when he heard the soft crack of apparition.

"Over here, Sirius." Daniel called out from a nearby bench. Sirius walked towards him cautiously, something was going to happen tonight and he wanted to know what. "It's ok, we're safe for now."

"What's this all about, Daniel?" Sirius asked. He didn't enjoy being left in the dark more than anyone else.

"Tonight we can strike a major blow to Voldemort." Daniel announced. "It will take a bit of daring, but it will be worth it."

"Explain." Sirius demanded.

"There are about a half dozen Death Eaters that control the financing for Voldemort's war. Most notably Malfoy, but there are others almost as important." Daniel replied. "Tonight I discovered that one of them has been a bit careless about guarding information and has put himself in a very vulnerable position."

"Who?" Sirius asked.

"Nott." Daniel said. "Snape mentioned a week ago that Nott had been tasked with reaching out to the vampires to fill the gap left in the Dark Lord's ranks now that the werewolves and Dementors are gone."

"Don't forget the giants either." Sirius added. "We think he only has twenty to twenty-five left."

"Excellent." Daniel said with a nod. "For the most part the vampires want nothing to do with Voldemort, but Nott is hoping that with enough money he can buy their support. A goblin at Gringott's who enjoys the extra galleons I often give him informed me today that Nott made a huge withdrawal from the bank. Such large withdrawals are very uncommon and Gringott's usually does whatever they can to slow the process down so they can learn more about where the money is going. Nott seemed to know that and insisted that they give him the money immediately. He also let it slip that if he 'didn't have the money by tomorrow there would be hell to pay'. He got his money a day earlier than he needed it."

"So you think he's going to meet with the vampires tomorrow and give them the bribe?" Sirius asked.

"Precisely." Daniel confirmed. "Meanwhile Nott, and the money, are waiting at his house."

"What do you want to do then?" Sirius asked. "Break in and steal the money?"

"For starters, yes." Daniel agreed. "But we can do much more than that. Especially since I intercepted Nott's owl to the vampires and replaced his note saying he had the money with one saying that he had the money and they should send their emissary tonight to come get it and negotiate the deal."

"Very sneaky of you." Sirius said. "How is it that you know about all of this and Dumbledore doesn't?"

"I couldn't have done it without the information I gathered from the Order of the Phoenix." Daniel replied. "But I also have my own sources of information, many of them not as noble as the great Albus Dumbledore would like."

"You're sure we're not walking into a trap then?" Sirius asked warily.

"As sure as I can be." Daniel said. "Nott should be the only one in the house. His son is at school and his wife died a few years ago. Getting in undetected will be the hardest part. I don't know what kind of defenses he has."

"Ok then, lead the way." Sirius finally said. Daniel nodded and placed his hand on the other man's shoulder. A moment later they apparated away and appeared in front of a large home that actually looked more like a mansion. The Nott's were quite wealthy and had been since Voldemort's first rise to power. It was that wealth that enabled Nott, like Malfoy, to avoid prison by paying a few well placed bribes. The home did not seem to have any obvious protections.

"I'm not good with wards." Sirius warned. "Can you check them."

"Yes." Daniel confirmed. He then cast a diagnostic spell toward the house. When it hit the light split off into a couple of different pieces, each a different color, that ended in strange symbols that Sirius did not recognize. As he studied them, Daniel began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Sirius asked.

"Nott is an arrogant fool!" Daniel laughed. "All he has on his house are wards to keep muggles away and a perimeter ward to let him know when someone steps onto his property."

"That's not very much protection." Sirius commented. His home at 12 Grimmauld had a wide variety of wards and charms protecting it that assured the safety of those within. "I guess he thinks no one would ever dare attack him. Stupid Death Eaters."

"Sure, but it works to our advantage so I won't complain too much." Daniel said with a grin. "I can't cancel the perimeter ward, and really I wouldn't even want to, but I can get us through without setting it off. Hold on a second." Daniel once again began casting a spell, but this one seemed to be much more complex than the diagnostic spell he had performed earlier. When it was finally over the tip of Daniel's wand glowed blue for a moment before fading away. "Let's go."

The two men walked up the path leading to the house as quietly as they could. None of the lights inside the house were on so they felt pretty confident that Nott was still asleep. A simple Alohomora was enough to open the door and allow them into the house itself. Neither of them had been there before and so were unsure exactly where the master bedroom would be. After a few minutes of searching they finally came to an elaborate door that they both suspected led to the room they were looking for.

"How do you want to do this?" Sirius asked quietly.

"Leave it to me, just be ready to disarm him if he reaches for his wand." Daniel said. "But if we do this right he won't have time. Ready?"

"Let's get this over with." Sirius answered. Daniel turned his attention back to the door. As quietly as possible he turned the knob and pushed the door open. Nott was inside, asleep and snoring loudly on his bed. He was completely unaware that his house had been broken into. Daniel crossed the distance between them without a sound and only moments later was standing over the Death Eater.

"Imperio!" Daniel said forcefully. At the noise Nott's eyes flashed open and he attempted to sit up, but then the spell hit him and he was still again. "Show me the money you were planning on giving to the vampires." Nott obediently got out of bed and reached into a drawer on his bedside table. He pulled out a small, plain pouch and presented it to Daniel who took it from him and tossed it to Sirius. "Check it, make sure that's everything."

Sirius nodded and looked inside the pouch. It had been magically expanded and had a weightless charm cast on it so that it was able to hold the vast amount of gold. "It looks like this is all of it." Sirius confirmed.

"Good. Now for step two." Daniel replied. "Stupefy!" The red spell hit Nott and and his unconcious body fell the the ground.

"A stunner?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Really?"

"Just wait, you'll see." Daniel said. He then cast two piercing hexes at the man's neck which opened up two identical wounds which were small and circular. "I've never tried this on a person before, but I don't see why if it works on an animal it wouldn't work on a person. Abeocruor!" As the spell hit Nott his skin began to pale, starting at where the spell hit him and continuing out as Daniel held the spell. After about a minute Daniel finally released the spell.

"What was that?" Sirius asked. "Is he dead?"

"Yes, he is." Daniel confirmed. "That was a spell used by butchers to drain animals of blood. It takes too long to be of any use in a duel, but it suited our purposes just fine I think."

Sirius took a closer look at Nott and his condition. With his blood removed and the two wounds on his neck it did indeed look like he had been attacked by a vampire. Finally the realization of what Daniel was attempting to do hit him.

"You want to turn Voldemort against the vampires." Sirius said. "Instead of an ally he gets another enemy."

"That's right, but it won't work unless the vampires think they've been betrayed too." Daniel replied. "They should be here soon, but not expecting an attack. We need to hurry to have everything set up."

Sirius nodded in agreement and they walked out of the room and back towards the main entrance that they knew the vampires would be using. The first thing they did was turn on the lights so that it would look like Nott was still up and waiting for them. Then they both conjured Death Eater masks for in case any of the vampires were able to escape and put them on before finding good spots in the room to hide and wait. Luckily for them their wait was not long. Less than fifteen minutes later a loud knock was heard at the door. Sirius pointed his wand at the door and magically opened it, allowing the vampires in. There were three of them: two bodyguards and then another vampire who must have been their ambassador to Voldemort. They cautiously entered the room and Sirius could tell by the looks on their faces that they knew something was wrong.

Suddenly the door they had just entered slammed shut and the two bodyguards tried to shield the other vampire from the attack they knew was coming. Sirius and Daniel leapt from their hiding spots and began their assault. Sirius set one vampire on fire with a well placed Incendio and the other two ran from him in order to avoid catching on fire themselves. After a few moments of screaming the flaming vampire crumbled to dust. The other bodyguard fell a moment later to a wooden stake through the heart that Daniel had conjured and banished towards him. The remaining vampire fell to his knees to beg for mercy.

"Nott! Please, think about what you're doing!" he yelled. Sirius and Daniel approached him and it was only when they took off their masks that the vampire realized he was not talking to the Death Eater he had been expecting. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I really don't think that's your concern anymore." Daniel replied before flicking his wand in a slashing movement across the vampires neck. The cutting curse severed the undead monsters head from its body and by the time the head struck the ground it had already begun to crumble into ashes.

"Are we done here?" Sirius asked as he stared at the pile of ashes.

"Almost." Daniel said before vanishing the ashes and once again turning out the lights. They had managed to not make a mess of the room, which was exactly what Daniel had wanted. "Now Voldemort will think the vampires killed Nott and stole the money while the vampires will think Voldemort assassinated their ambassador. I'd say the chances of an alliance between them just dropped, wouldn't you?"

"Definitely." Sirius agreed. "But don't you think they'll eventually figure out what happened?"

"Honestly? No, I don't." Daniel answered with a shake of his head. "Voldemort won't bother to gather information, he'll just attack. And by the time either of them figures out what really happened they'll already be at each other's throats."

"And the money?" Sirius asked.

"I'm sure we can find something to spend it on." Daniel laughed. "We should leave. It would ruin everything if someone saw us here. There's no apparition wards, so I'm going to leave from here. Good work tonight Sirius."

"I feel like I was just along for the ride." Sirius replied. "Next time you have to give me more information on what's going on. If there is a next time."

"Actually I've been thinking about a way to solve one of your problems..." Daniel said.

"And what would that be?" Sirius asked.

"Come over tomorrow, we'll discuss it then." Daniel answered. Sirius nodded in agreement and then apparated away. Daniel did the same a moment later.

It would be two days until anyone noticed that Nott was missing. Eventually Lucius Malfoy was sent to check on him and discovered Nott's rotting corpse in the master bedroom of his home. Malfoy, who knew of the plan to buy the vampire's allegiance, accepted without question the idea that his old friend had been murdered by the vampires (who Malfoy did not like to begin with). This was later reported to Voldemort as fact and luckily for Sirius and Daniel Voldemort did not bother to verify the accusation. Their own prejudices against the vampires and belief that none of their other enemies would dare attack them in this way worked against them. As Daniel had hoped the alliance between the two groups died before it could even really begin, and Voldemort's enemies had struck another blow against him without him even realizing it.

* * *

Harry eagerly left the Transfiguration classroom and began his search for Daphne. He knew she should just be leaving Charms at this point and desperately wanted to tell her what Sirius had told him through the two way mirrors last night. Harry pushed his way through the crowds of students all headed and different directions and kept looking for his girlfriend. Finally he saw Daphne exit the classroom and start walking away from him, unaware that Harry was looking for her. Harry rushed to catch up with her and when he threw his arm around her in greeting she yelped in surprise.

"Harry!" she said once she realized who it was. "You shouldn't sneak up on me, I might hex you."

"I'd like to think I'd be able to defend myself." Harry replied. "I trained with Moody for too long, and if I had snuck up on him like that he would have hexed me."

"Thankfully I'm not Professor Moody." Daphne commented.

"I completely agree." Harry said, adding a kiss to help make his point. "You've got a free period now, right? Good. Let's go outside for a bit, I need to tell you something."

"I had something to tell you anyway." Daphne replied. "Let's go."

Harry took Daphne's hand and together they made their way through the hallway and out the doors of the castle leading to the lake. Many other students were also outside enjoying the warm day so Harry and Daphne had to walk quite a far distance before they were sure they would not be overheard.

"So the new gossip in Slytherin in that Theodore Nott's father was just murdered by a vampire." Daphne announced as they sat down on a rock facing the lake. "He's leaving this weekend for the funeral."

"So you heard about that already, then?" Harry asked. "That's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. Sirius called me last night and apparently it wasn't a vampire that took out Nott, it was him and your dad."

"Really?" Daphne asked in surprise. "I haven't heard from him since it happened, but that isn't the kind of thing you put in a letter anyway. Did Sirius say why, apart from the obvious reason of Nott being a Death Eater?"

"Voldemort was working on trying get help from the vampires." Harry explained. "That won't be happening now."

"No, I guess it won't." Daphne said. "I wonder how much of this has just been planned and how much has just been luck..."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"During the last war one of the reasons Voldemort was so feared was because of the legions of dark creatures under his command." Daphne began. "But after you killed Greyback he lost control of the werewolves and it will be years before they stop fighting each other and pick a new leader. Then you and the Order attacked Azkaban and took out most of the Dementors and scared the rest away. That was a bigger accomplishment than I think you realized at the time, Harry. People lived in constant fear of them last time."

"I can see why." Harry replied. "I hate those bloody things."

"Voldemort has also brought over the giants, but the fact is that their population never really got the chance to rebuild since the last war." Daphne explained. "Even though they have caused a lot of damage Sirius seems to think that they will be killed or driven away by the end of the year."

"Sirius is pretty proud of what he has been able to accomplish with the Aurors and Minister Bones' help." Harry agreed.

"The vampires and Voldemort were supposed to have never trusted each other." Daphne said. "That he would even consider reaching out to them is a sign of desperation. And the best part is that it didn't even work! Pretty much all he has left now are his Death Eaters."

"True, but they were always the most dangerous part of his army anyway." Harry reminded her. "It'd be a mistake to think that we are even on the verge of beating him. We still have two more Horcruxes and Voldemort himself to deal with after all."

"You're right." Daphne agreed. "But we are closer now than we've ever been. I just wish we could do more while we were here at Hogwarts."

"I know what you mean." Harry said. "But for now we'll just keep learning as much as we can. Just remember to be careful, too."

"Careful about anything in particular?" Daphne asked.

"No. I'm probably just imagining things anyway." Harry said skeptically. "Just be careful in general."

"First tell me what you think you're imagining." Daphne demanded.

"I keep the getting the feeling that somebody's watching me." Harry explained. "But no one is ever there when I look, and the Marauder's Map hasn't been any help either. Maybe it's just Moody's paranoia wearing off on me."

"It could be, but it'd be smart to assume otherwise." Daphne advised. "If something is going on we'll figure it out."

"Thanks." Harry said with a smile. "So do you need to get back inside?"

"It can wait." Daphne replied before scooting closer to Harry and kissing him. Harry was happy to return the kiss and the young couple happily spent the rest of their time not thinking about the war or any threats they might be facing.


	40. Chapter 40

At precisely 1:15 PM Sirius Black arrived at the apparition point in Diagon Alley and began walking towards the Leaky Cauldron for lunch exactly like he had done the two days before. The popular magical shopping area was bustling with activity, but Sirius appeared to pay little attention to any of it. He simply looked straight ahead and quickly made his way to his destination. His route briefly took him past the entrance to Knockturn Alley, however he did not stop there or even bother looking at it.

"You're doing just fine, Sirius." Daniel Greengrass said through a charmed and disillusioned device resting on Sirius' ear. The item allowed Sirius to hear everything Daniel was saying, but did not allow him to respond. That part of the system was housed in the watch he wore on his left arm. Daniel was currently perched on the roof of the Magical Menagerie which happened to be one of the tallest buildings in Diagon Alley. Using a pair of omnioculars, Daniel followed Sirius' every move and the crowd of people around him.

"Sirius, I think you just picked up an admirer." Tonks said through an identical pair of communications devices. She was on the street walking around, careful to always keep Sirius within view. Her abilities as a metamorphmagus especially came in handy for this task. Today she appeared to be a middle aged witch with long, graying hair. Yesterday she had looked like a younger, slightly overweight witch and tomorrow she was toying with the idea of disguising herself as a wizard. Tonks was confident she could pull it off.

"Where is he, Tonks?" Daniel asked as he began searching the area around Sirius.

"About twenty feet behind Sirius. He came out of Knockturn Alley when we passed." Tonks reported. "I'm moving in for a better look."

"Careful." Daniel reminded her. He focused the omnioculars on Tonks and followed her line of sight to who he guessed was the target. The man in question did not look at all out of the ordinary, but Daniel knew better than to assume that meant he was harmless.

"I recognize this guy, Daniel." Tonks said as she closed the distance between her and the target. "He was here yesterday. I didn't think anything of it at the time."

"No one would have." Daniel replied. He used the omnioculars zoom function to get a better look at the man following Sirius. Unfortunately he did not look familiar. "You're right though, he's definitely following Sirius. Sirius, I need you to just keep going on as we have before. This guy may be a Death Eater, but he isn't the one we want." Sirius did not respond, but simply continued on to the Leaky Cauldron. Once he reached it he went inside and sat down at a table near the window as he had also done the two previous days. The man following him stopped in front of the building but did not enter.

"I'm backing off, Daniel." Tonks announced. "We don't want him to get suspicious."

"That's fine, I've got him in my sights." Daniel replied. Their target still stood in front of the Leaky Cauldron looking unsure of what he wanted to do. Inside, Sirius had already ordered his lunch and was waiting patiently for it to arrive. After a few more minutes the man turned around and began to leave the area. "He's on the move, looks like he's heading back towards Knockturn."

"I'll be there before he will." Tonks assured him. "Let's see where he goes."

"And what do you want me to do?" Sirius asked quietly over the magical communications link.

"Enjoy your meal." Daniel answered. "We've got this under control for now. Today is about setting the trap, not springing it." Daniel could hear Sirius grunt with dissatisfaction about that, but he did not say anything else. From his vantage point Daniel could see both the man in question and Tonks who was already ahead of the man and closer to Knockturn Alley. Tonks stopped at a nearby store and pretended to be looking at what they had for sale through the window while she waited. A few moments later he passed her and headed into the seedier shopping district.

"He just went into Borgin and Burkes." Tonks reported. "Think I should follow?"

"No, it's too risky." Daniel replied. "Just wait there and watch for him to leave."

After a half hour of waiting their target had still not come out of Borgin and Burkes and it was time for Sirius to leave the Leaky Cauldron if he wanted to stay on schedule. Sirius was unhappy that his part was over but left anyway in the hopes that their plan would be better off if he did. After an additional half hour Daniel and Tonks agreed that the person they were following had likely left Knockturn Alley either through the floo inside the store or from a back exit they couldn't see from their positions.

"I think we've seen all there is to see today." Tonks whispered into the bracelet on her wrist which enabled her to talk to the others. "Same time tomorrow?"

"No, tomorrow's Saturday. We'll stick to doing this on just weekdays. Hopefully that won't look suspicious." Daniel replied. "That'll give me time to try and identify whoever it was following Sirius."

"Ok." Tonks agreed. "In that case I'm leaving."

Daniel nodded and turned his attention back to Diagon Alley. It was still busy but he could not spot anything out of the ordinary. Reluctantly he had to agree with Tonks that there wasn't much left for them to do here so he gathered his things and apparated back home. He, and the others, could only hope that their real target would fall for the bait.

* * *

Harry, Fred, and George stood on the sidelines of the Quidditch pitch watching closely as the three Gryffindor chasers tested the potential keepers. About a dozen students had eagerly signed up, hoping to be on the team that had been so successful in recent years. About half of them had absolutely no hope of making the team but the rest had at least some skills. A seventh year that Harry barely knew was currently attempting to keep Angelina Johnson from scoring. Her arm shot forward to the far right goal and the potential keeper rushed to block the shot, only realizing at the last moment that the quaffle had never left her hand. The fake left the other goals wide open and Angelina easily scored.

"That's the fifth one he's missed." Fred commented with a shake of his head.

"Out of six." George added.

"Obviously he's not our guy, but who is? The best anyone's done so far is block six out of ten." Harry said. The other two shrugged, each hoping that someone better would show up. "I noticed Cormac McLaggen didn't show up, either of you know why?"

"Who? Us?" George replied.

"Nope, not a clue." Fred said. "Maybe he's feeling a little under the weather." Harry didn't miss the small smiles that accompanied this statement from both of the twins.

"Sure." Harry said. "And I neither of you would know anything about that, huh?"

"It sounds like we're being accused of something!" Fred answered with a laugh. "You know us Harry, we'd never do anything to hurt the team."

"Of course keeping that wanker off the team is also for the best." George muttered softly, but Fred nodded in agreement.

"From what I've heard, he deserves whatever he gets." Harry assured them before turning back to watch the end of the training run. Katie Bell had just scored again. "Oh well. Who is next?"

"I'll handle that." Fred answered before running off to where the rest of the people trying out for keeper were waiting. "Is there a... Ron Weasley here? Ron Weasley? What a silly name."

Ron's face turned red as he made his way to the pitch and Fred continued teasing him.

"Hello there little one, you do know that first years aren't normally allowed on the house team don't you?" Fred said as Ron approached.

"Knock it off, Fred." Ron said angrily. "I need to concentrate."

"Quit stressing yourself out." Fred advised. "That won't help." Ron nodded and stepped onto his broom before flying off towards the goals. For the next few minutes he simply flew around them, getting comfortable with the lay out of the field. Meanwhile Fred walked back to where Harry and George were standing.

"How do you think he'll do?" George asked.

"Fine, if he can get over his nervousness." Harry replied, knowing that would be Ron's biggest problem.

Above them Ron had finally given the chasers the signal that he was ready to begin. Alicia Spinnet started with the quaffle and flew high to the left, drawing Ron over to that side. Suddenly she dove and headed straight for the goal on the right side, but just before Ron thought she was going to shoot Alicia passed the quaffle to Angelina who had snuck up on him from the other side of the field. She hurled the ball towards the far left goal and Ron flew as fast as he could to intercept it. He knew it was going to be close and he was just able to get his fingers on the quaffle as it passed him. Although he was not able to catch the quaffle he was able to alter its path just enough to cause it to bounce off the goal post instead of going through the hoop. As the quaffle fell Fred and George began cheering on the close save and as Ron returned back to his starting position a large smile crossed his face.

"I knew he wouldn't mess it up." Fred commented with a smile of his own.

"Just nine more to go..." George replied uncertainly.

Ron was able to prevent the chasers from scoring on the next two attempts, but on the following shot he made a poor decision and left the far right goal completely open which allowed Alicia to easily score. Angry at himself, Ron also missed the next one and it looked like his success was at an end. But he blocked the next shot and the relief on his face was clear to all who were watching. After that his confidence seemed to return and he was able to prevent the chasers from scoring any more goals. Having blocked eight out of ten shots, Ron was the clear front runner for the keeper position. After another hour of tryouts no one else had been able to block as many shots as he had. The team met at the middle of the pitch to discuss what to do next.

"Alright everybody!" Angelina said. "I know I'm the captain but this is a team decision. You all saw the try outs, so who is our next keeper?"

"I vote for Ron." Fred replied, with George nodding beside him. "Everyone knows you can never have too many Weasleys."

"Right on that one, Fred." George added.

"He did block the most shots." Katie commented. "Ron's got my vote, too."

"And mine." Alicia said.

"Ron was the best out there." Harry agreed.

"Then it's unanimous." Angelina said with a smile. "I'll let you two tell him."

Fred and George ran off to tell their little brother the good news and Harry could hear them yelling excitedly from completely across the pitch. Ron jumped onto his broom and flew around in large, looping circles as he pumped his fist into the air. His brother soon joined him, as did Ginny who had been watching the try outs from the sidelines.

Deciding not to join them, Harry instead headed inside with the rest of the team and the disappointed group of students who had tried out but not gotten the position. Daphne, he knew, was busy working on an Ancient Runes project so he thought it would be for the best to not bother her during that. So he decided to heard back to the Gryffindor common room and see if any of his friends were around. He was happy to see Hermione sitting on one of the couches writing a letter. What surprised him, however, was the fact that she was writing with pen and paper instead of quill and parchment.

"Hey Hermione, what're you doing?" Harry asked as he sat down next to her.

"Writing a letter to my parents." she replied. "I wish I had a pair of mirrors like the ones you and Sirius have, but this will have to do."

"But why are you writing with those?" Harry said. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a pen or paper at Hogwarts."

"That's because we aren't allowed to turn in our assignments unless we use quills and parchment." Hermione informed him. "The rule has been around for over a hundred years, mostly it is tradition but also some people don't want to be seen copying muggle ideas."

"I never knew that." Harry replied. "Do you think you'll live more like a witch or muggle once we've graduated and moved on?"

"Why can't I do both?" Hermione asked. "I don't want to give up either. Both worlds have things they could teach the other and it's a shame that wizards try so desperately to ignore muggles."

"That's true, but I just can't see myself living in the muggle world after knowing about the magical one."

"Your experiences with the muggle world are mainly based on your time with the Dursleys, and that isn't a fair representation." Hermione said. "Most people are a lot nicer than them."

"On the bright side I doubt I'll ever have to see them again." Harry replied. "If they followed my advise they should be out of the house and far from here by now."

"Where do you think they'll go?"

"I don't really care." Harry answered. "I'll just be happy as long as I never have to see #4 Privet Drive ever again. I have a much better home now."

"I'm glad it turned out like it did." Hermione said with a smile towards her friend. She truly was glad that Harry was able to escape the Dursleys and go to somewhere he was actually wanted.

"So... Ron made the quidditch team." Harry said, changing subjects. "He must have been practicing."

"Good for him." Hermione answered. They continued to talk for the next few minutes about the quidditch team and school and various other unimportant topics, but unknown to them the important part of their conversation had already been overheard. Nagini sat completely still in a part of the wall high above Harry and Hermione, but their voices could still be clearly heard. The information the snake gathered was immediately available to Lord Voldemort who pondered what he could do with this new piece of data.

* * *

Harry forcefully closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of all distractions while Professor Shacklebolt sat and watched his pupil attempt to meditate. They had found, much to their disappointment, that while Harry had impressive Occlumency shields his method of obtaining them had not taught him the skills necessary to immediately grasp this new technique. Still they were making progress and that was the important thing.

Harry was once again sitting on a mat on the floor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. His arms were stretched out in front of him with his hands cupped as if expecting something to be poured into them.

"Good, Harry. Now concentrate on the flow of magic running through you." Shacklebolt instructed. "If you can, direct it towards one of your hands." Harry nodded in slightly in acknowledgement of the words and attempted to do as his tutor asked. It was far more difficult than he had anticipated however. Without the benefit of his wand the task of forcing his magic into a specific spot was entirely up to him. At first he felt as if he was trying to divert a river with nothing more than his hands, but eventually he could feel the difference he was making. The magic seemed to finally acknowledge Harry as its master and do as he commanded. He was so focused, he almost missed what Shacklebolt said: "Open your eyes."

Harry did as asked and was shocked to see a tiny flame hovering above his outstretched hand. He could feel the warmth of the small flame, but it did not burn him

"That's amazing." Harry gasped. "It's wandless magic, isn't it?"

"A form of it, yes." Shacklebolt agreed. "Now, try to bring the flame back within you and push it through your other hand."

Harry closed his eyes again began pulling back on his magic. He could feel the small gust of cool air hit his hand when the flame was extinguished, but even so it felt as if the warmth had somehow been transferred into his arm. The warmth travelled all the way up his arm, then across his shoulders and into the other arm. A few moments later he felt a familiar feeling in his other hand and opened his eyes. Another small flame was hovering just above his hand.

"I did it." Harry said proudly.

"Yes, you did." Shacklebolt said. "But we always knew you could do it, Harry. You've done similar things before without realizing it, often in moments of extreme stress or emotion. It is important you learn to do it without those requirements. Continue meditating for another half hour or so and keep practicing what you learned tonight."

"Are you leaving?" Harry asked.

"Unfortunately." Shacklebolt sighed. "Apparently one of the requirements of being a teacher is grading papers. Dumbledore failed to mention how much of that there was when he was trying to convince me to take the job. Good work tonight Harry."

"Thanks, Professor." Harry replied. "See you Monday." Shacklebolt nodded his head in agreement before gathering his things and leaving the room. Harry was alone once again and still determined to master the skills his tutor was trying to teach him. He had grown much more powerful over the past few months, especially after learning how his power increases were different from that of other wizards and witches. Although it had been a long time since he had measured his magical power, he suspected that he was roughly twice as strong now as he was in the spring. Not bad, he thought, for a few months work including a lot of time that had been lost to either the Dursleys or recovering from Voldemort's spell.

"_He's weak... master.._."

The strange and very faint voice surprised Harry. His eyes flew open and he began scanning the room for any threats that might be coming, but saw none. An idea struck him and he began to concentrate on feeling the magic around him, as Shacklebolt had shown him was possible. The sensation was confusing and Harry wasn't quite sure what he was looking for to begin with, but he continues to search. Finally he felt something that was out of place, and yet somehow very familiar. It wasn't coming from inside the room, he realized, but from the next room over. It was strange that he would be hearing things from other rooms unless they were talking very loud.

Harry's suspicion that he was being watched grew and he could not think of any other explanation for it. He was about to run into the next room when suddenly the odd magical presence he had been focusing on vanished and he could no longer feel any sign of it. He looked in the other room anyway, but there was nothing there. Harry frowned and felt that he was somehow missing something very important but he couldn't determine what that was. Harry left the room in frustration and knew he wouldn't be able to meditate any more that night. His time would be much better spent teaching himself new spells in the Room of Requirement.

On that day, he did not realize the voice he had heard had been in Parseltongue.

* * *

It was another beautiful day at Hogwarts and Harry and Daphne were spending it outside, away from the noise and distractions of life inside the castle. Dobby had been kind enough to bring them some food for a picnic, although as usual he brought far too much. One of the reasons they had spent so much time outside recently was because while there Harry did not get the overwhelming feeling of being watched like he did while inside. Daphne sat and listened as Harry finished telling her what had happened the previous night.

"So you think that Voldemort sent someone to spy on you?" Daphne asked while her mind considered the problem.

"I can't think of any other explanation." Harry replied. "The only thing I can't figure out is who."

"Somebody hiding under an invisibility cloak maybe?" Daphne suggested.

"I don't think so." Harry answered with a shake of his head. "They aren't showing up on the Marauder's Map, and that is able to see through invisibility cloaks."

"So maybe it isn't a person at all, or if it is it might not be a living one." Daphne said.

"You think Voldemort sent a ghost to spy on me?" Harry asked. "I hadn't heard of any working for him."

"It's possible, but unlikely." Daphne replied. "The other ghosts in the castle would have noticed and brought it to someone's attention. We should still ask around though. What about a house elf?"

"That's a good suggestion." Harry agreed. "We know they can move around the castle freely, and the protections against apparition don't seem to work on them."

"They wouldn't, elves have a different kind of magic than we do." Daphne said. "We should tell Dobby to keep an eye out for any house elves in the castle who don't belong here."

"I just have this feeling that I'm missing something." Harry said. "But I can't figure out what it could be."

"Just keep thinking about it." Daphne advised. Harry nodded in agreement and leaned against the tree he was standing next to. He already had the sinking suspicion that he would be kicking himself when he realized what it was he was overlooking. Daphne watched her boyfriend worry about his problems and sighed. She wished there was more she could do to help but she was already doing everything she knew to. Harry had closed his eyes to think and remained that way for several minutes. Daphne didn't say anything, knowing it would be better to just let him do it himself. Suddenly Harry's eyes popped open and he horrified expression crossed his face. "What is it, Harry? Did you remember something?"

"No, this is worse." Harry replied. His hand dropped into his pants pocket and pulled out a small, metal disk. It was slightly glowing and had become hot to the touch. "It's the Dursleys. I gave the other one of these to Aunt Petunia and told her to only use it if she were in extreme danger. I've got to go."

"Where are we going?" Daphne asked, implying that Harry would not be leaving without her.

"According to this they're still at home." Harry said. "But I need you to go back into the castle and get my mirror. Tell Sirius what is going on, hopefully he'll be able to bring back up."

"Harry I don't like this." Daphne protested. "I should be there with you!"

"I know, but you'll be helping me more by doing this than by coming with me." Harry explained. "Sirius is a better dueler than you. Plus he might have someone else with him that could help. Please do this for me."

"Fine." Daphne said unhappily. "Where's your mirror?"

"In my room." Harry replied. "The password to get into the common room is 'Valor'. You might want to tell Dumbledore after you tell Sirius. I've got to go..."

"Wait!" Daphne shouted, grabbing onto his shirt as he was turning to leave. She pulled him close to her and kissed him before reluctantly letting him go. "I love you. Be careful."

"Love you, too. And I will be." Harry promised. He then began running towards the main gates and to the edge of the anti-apparition wards. He only hoped he could reach his relatives in time to save them. Daphne stood and watched him for a moment before turning and running the opposite direction towards the castle. She looked back once, just in time to see Harry pass through the gate and vanish. The only thing she could do to help him now was to send Sirius after him.

* * *

Author's Note:

I greatly apologize for the delay in posting new chapters. Some personal issues came up and sorry guys but my family is way more important than this story. Anyhow the story is probably 3/4's done at this point and I've already mapped out the rest of the big plot points. I want to make sure that all of the loose ends get tied up appropriately but I think I've got most of them covered. Thanks for reading and being patient, as always I appreciate all of you who have taken the time to read and comment on this story. And for my part I promise it will be completed.


	41. Chapter 41

Harry apparated to a spot on Privet Drive a few hundred feet away from his former home. Looking around the neighborhood he could not find any signs of violence or a fight having taken place, but that did little to reassure him. There was no way Petunia could have accidently activated the charm, not with the safeguards he had placed on it. Here in Surrey the skies were overcast and full of clouds threatening to unleash heavy storms, a stark contrast to the warm and sunny day Hogwarts was experiencing. The streets, normally full of children playing on the weekends, were completely empty as people decided to stay inside instead.

Harry approached the house carefully, not wanting to announce his presence just yet. As he drew near to the house he could not see or hear anything that would indicate the Dursleys were in danger. Then he stepped closer to the house and all at once the sounds of people screaming overwhelmed him. 'They must have used a silencing charm...' Harry realized. Using his training from Shacklebolt and Moody, Harry checked the status of the wards surrounding the house. They were too weak to be of any use, but had not completely collapsed yet. That could happen at any moment. Another scream brought his attention back to what was going on inside the house One of the screams was clearly his Aunt Petunia, begging someone to stop what they were doing. There was only fear in her voice though, not pain. The voice yelling in pain was male and Harry suspected it belonged to his cousin Dudley.

Slowly, Harry moved around the house so that he could look through the window. Dudley's screams had ended and by the time Harry was able to look inside he was laying on the ground with Petunia kneeling over him crying. Uncle Vernon had been paralyzed and magically stuck to the wall. There was nothing he could do to prevent the attacks on his family, not even scream for help. There were three Death Eaters inside the house that Harry could see. The first lurked quietly in corner and simply watched what was going on. His bright, silver hand identified him immediately as Wormtail. Wormtail seemed nervous and eager to leave the house, but said nothing to his fellow Death Eaters.

The next Death Eater was one he had personally never dueled, but had still encountered once before: Gabriel Greengrass. His wand was the one pointing at Dudley, leading Harry to assume that whatever spell his cousin had been hit with had come from Gabriel. He appeared to be laughing and taking a perverse pleasure from the pain and suffering he had caused the Dursley family. He and the last Death Eater frequently looked at each other as if planning their next move.

The last Death Eater was none other than Lucius Malfoy. The snobbish man looked at the Dursleys as if they were nothing more than disgusting animals. Although he clearly approved of their pain, he did not take the same pleasure from it than Gabriel Greengrass seemed to. All things considered, he looked a little bored by the entire situation.

"Please, leave us alone!" Petunia begged. "Potter isn't here!"

"Of course not." Gabriel replied. "He's at Hogwarts, where he's supposed to be."

"Then why are you doing this?" Petunia sobbed. "I can't tell you anything. He doesn't even like us."

"Yes, we've heard how poorly you filthy muggles treated him." Malfoy sneered. "Potter is worthless, but at least he isn't muggle filth like you. We can't allow muggles to think they're better than us, now can we? And we have heard Potter doesn't care for you, but the Dark Lord think that if your deaths can cause him even the slightest amount of pain it is well worth doing." Petunia shrieked again on hearing the admission that they planned on killing her and her family.

Outside, Harry was considering his options. He knew his skills and power had vastly improved over the past few months but he was still reluctant to rush into battle with three senior Death Eaters without bringing some kind of advantage with him. As it was his greatest advantage was the element of surprise. Perhaps if he could take out one of his opponents in the first few seconds of the clash he would be able to save all the Dursleys and get out of the situation unharmed...

* * *

"Sirius, you've got to help him!" Daphne pleaded. The mirror trembled slightly in her hand, a combination of her worry for Harry and from loss of breath after running across the castle grounds to the Gryffindor common room. She had not even bothered to respond to the shouts from the Gryffindors telling her she wasn't allowed in.

"I'm going now." Sirius replied. "Your dad's here, Daphne. Together we should be able to keep Harry safe."

"Thank you." Daphne said earnestly. Sirius nodded and then his image seemed to fade away as the mirror shut off.

"Daphne?" an uncertain voice asked from the doorway. Daphne turned to see Hermione looking in on her worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Harry's gone to rescue the Dursley's." Daphne explained. "Sirius and my dad are going to help, I just hope they aren't going to be too late."

"We need to tell Dumbledore." Hermione said. "None of the Death Eaters can win against him and it sounds like Harry can use the help."

Daphne nodded and the two girls rushed out of the room on their way to Dumbledore's office. It would take them another five minutes to get their message to the Headmaster. Unfortunately for them and Harry, the message had already been heard by Nagini and passed on to Lord Voldemort.

* * *

Harry stood in front of the door with his wand gripped tightly in his hand. He allowed himself a moment to gather his thoughts before launching his assault but knew the Dursleys could wait no longer than that. There was no telling when one of the three Death Eaters would tire of their game and fire a killing curse at them. Harry lifted his wand towards the door and sent a powerful banishing charm towards it. Too powerful, he realized at the last moment. The door broke into pieces from the force of his spell and they were sent at high speeds into the living room. Wormtail was directly in the line of fire, but the small pieces of door did less damage than a solid door hitting him would have. Still it was enough to knock Wormtail to the ground and send his wand spinning to the floor. All eyes in the room immediately turned towards Harry whose wand was looking for its next target.

Malfoy and Greengrass now stood between Harry and the Dursleys. For a brief moment Harry hesitated and took a second to aim, not wanting to cast a powerful spell that might also hit the Dursleys. That moment was all the experienced Death Eaters needed to level the playing field. An instant later their wands were moving too and all three wizards fired their spells at once. With such little space between them, there was no chance for any of them to dodge.

Malfoy's spell was a powerful shield that covered him but left Gabriel vulnerable. He knew his partner would choose an offensive spell to use against Potter, and he did not survive this long by dueling stupidly. No matter what happened, he knew, he would be safe from this round of spells. Harry's spell created a fireball which sped towards Gabriel, searing the flesh it impacted and causing his robes to burst into flames. Gabriel's spell was a Reducto curse that hit Harry squarely in the chest and sent him flying back out the open front door. Fortunately for Harry Gabriel had been caught by surprise and not able to put the full extent of his power behind the curse.

"What a pleasant surprise!" Malfoy laughed as he stepped outside. Harry was scrambling to pick himself up get ready to defend himself. "Crucio!" Malfoy yelled, casting one of his favorite spells. Harry was able to roll out of the way of the dark red spell. Where it hit the sidewalk it broke the top of the concrete and left a black mark on the point of impact. Inside Wormtail had finally gotten to his feet and was walking outside as well while Gabriel attempted to extinguish the flames on his robes. Meanwhile Petunia and Dudley were desperately trying to pull Vernon down from the wall, but the sticking charm that had placed him there held strong.

After dodging another Crucio Harry was able to make it to his feet and retaliate against Malfoy. Bright blue bolts of electricity leapt from the tip of his wand and began striking Malfoy as the elder man screamed in pain. He was forced to cancel the spell, however, when he noticed Wormtail preparing to join the fight. With a flick of his wrist Harry cast a strong cutting curse aimed not at his magical hand, but at the arm it was attached to. A moment later another piece of Wormtail's arm fell to the ground, taking the magical hand with it and he began to scream in pain. Now disconnected from his body, the magic holding the hand together vanished leaving only a stump behind.

A scream from inside the house alerted Harry to the fact that Gabriel Greengrass had recovered enough to make it back onto his feet. While he would rather stay outside and deal with Malfoy who was still moaning in pain on the ground, that wasn't an option because his relatives were still inside. Harry once again rushed through the door, only then realizing that he was too late.

"Avada Kedavra!" Gabriel yelled to Harry's horror as he entered the room. Harry attempted to conjure a brick wall in front of the spell, but it materialized a fraction of a second too late to stop the spell from hitting its intended target. Harry saw his Uncle Vernon's eyes grow wide as the spell approached him and Harry wondered if the man knew what was coming. From Petunia's screams of "No!" he assumed she did. When the deadly green spell hit him Vernon's eyes fell closed, but otherwise there was no change in his appearance. The paralysis and binding spells still held him firmly in place.

"Bastard!" Harry said angrily turned his wand back towards Gabriel. A strong banishing charm sent the man crashing through the living room wall and into the kitchen. Another wave of his wand toppled the refrigerator on top of him. Gabriel was still groaning in pain, but was no longer an immediate threat. Harry looked up at his now deceased uncle and sighed bitterly. Though he never liked the man, Vernon did not deserve to die like this. Harry cancelled the spells keeping his uncle in place and the body fell to the ground at his feet. Petunia and Dudley rushed to him, but Harry knew there was no time for them to waste fretting over a dead body.

"You have to get out of here." Harry commanded. He picked up a piece of junk from the ground, a silly looking ceramic cat that had somehow survived the fight, and turned it into a portkey to take them to a nearby hospital. It was the best he could do for them at the moment. "Take this. Run to the end of the block and when you're both holding on to it say 'Escape'. It will get you out of here, you'll be safe."

"But Vernon!" Petunia sobbed.

"Is dead." Harry replied. "I'm sorry. But you have to go. Now." Harry handed them the portkey and turned to go back outside, knowing Malfoy was still there. He just hoped that Petunia and Dudley would listen to his advice. There was a rear exit to the house, and if they were smart they would be using it right now. When Harry stepped outside he was shocked to see that his help had arrived. Daniel Greengrass and Lucius Malfoy were dueling right in the middle of the street, in full view of anyone that might be watching from the neighboring houses. Neither of them seemed to care about the Statute of Secrecy at the moment however. Wormtail, missing both his arm and his wand, was running as fast as he could away from Sirius who looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him before.

"You can't run this time, Wormtail!" Sirius shouted with his wand pointed at the fleeing traitor's back. A blast of light erupted from Sirius' wand and sped towards Wormtail. Harry had the time to recognize it as an overpowered piercing hex before it struck its target. The spell punched a two inch diameter hole all the way through Wormtail's chest and he immediately tumbled to the ground and did not move again. Sirius had finally gotten his revenge on Peter Pettigrew.

For a moment, Harry thought the situation was almost under control. An instant later everything changed.

Harry felt Voldemort's presence before he actually saw the Dark Lord. His training with Shacklebolt had helped him develop his ability to sense the magic around him, and what he felt now was equally powerful and evil. Harry turned and looked down towards the end of the street where he had apparated in only a few minutes before. Lord Voldemort was calmly making his way towards 4 Privet Drive and as he did everyone else was becoming aware of his presence. Lucius Malfoy stopped dueling Daniel Greengrass and ran towards his master while Harry, Sirius, and Daniel regrouped on the other end of the street. When the distance between them had been reduced to only fifty feet Voldemort stopped to enjoy the scene in front of him.

"I see that one of you has killed Wormtail." Voldemort said, although there was no hint of sadness in his voice. "Who could of done that. You, Harry? No, I think now. It must have been Pettigrew's old friend Sirius Black. What did it feel like to kill a friend, Black?"

"He was a traitor!" Sirius yelled in response. "He stopped being my friend when he joined you!"

"He's just playing with you, Sirius." Daniel whispered, trying to calm him down. "Don't fall for it."

"There's one Greengrass, now where is mine?" Voldemort said. His eyes drifted over towards the Dursley's house as if he already knew that Gabriel was inside. The Dark Lord raised his wand, causing everyone else to tense up, but instead of attacking them he simply summoned his lost Death Eater towards him. Gabriel screamed as he flew through a window and landed at Voldemort's feet. "Now we're all here. To think, when I started the day all I wanted to do was to kill some muggles. This is going to be much more fun."

"What're we going to do?" Sirius asked. "Run or fight?"

"Voldemort put up an anti-apparition ward around the whole place when he got here." Harry replied with a shake of his head. "It extends for at least a mile. I don't think we have a choice but to fight."

"Harry's right." Daniel agreed sadly. "Voldemort's the main threat here..."

"Which is why you have to leave him to me." Harry interrupted. "I am better than you and you both know that. Take out Malfoy and Gabriel as quick as you can and come help me. I don't know if I can beat him, but I don't have to today. Daphne should be on her way to tell Dumbledore right now and with his help we can send Voldemort running."

"In that case, I'll take my brother." Daniel replied.

"Which means I've got Malfoy." Sirius said. Both of them shifted where there wands were pointed to reflect their new targets. For a few seconds nothing happened. All six wizards stood perfectly still with their wands pointed at each other. Harry saw movement in one of the houses on Privet Drive and when he glanced over saw two small children looking out the window with the eyes wide open. Their reactions to seeing real wizards preparing to fight each other with magic would have made Harry laugh in any other situation, but there was no time for it now. In the end, it was Lucius Malfoy who cast the first spell and started the battle.

"Avada Kedavra!" Malfoy yelled, casting the Killing Curse at Sirius. Sirius stepped to the side and sent a Reducto back at his attacker but Malfoy was able to shield against the spell and quickly return fire. Their duel drifted off to one side of the street until they were fighting on the lawns and sidewalks instead of the actual road. The need for space to maneuver similarly pushed the Greengrass brother's duel off to the other side of the street, leaving Harry and Voldemort alone in the middle of the road.

Voldemort began with a volley of Crucio's that he cast in rapid succession, faster than Harry had ever seen anyone cast the Unforgivable before. Harry knew Voldemort expected him to run or jump to avoid the curses, but Harry was eager to surprise the Dark Lord with how powerful he had become. A wave of Harry's wand caused the concrete the street was made of to peel up and form a wall in front of him. Voldemort's curses smashed into the concrete and broke pieces of it off, but none of the spells were able to break completely through and reach Harry. Instead of just dropping the concrete back to where it was Harry kept folding it over until the top curled down on itself. Soon that piece of the road had been formed into a hollow concrete cylinder than Harry sent rolling towards the Dark Lord. He put as much power into pushing it as he could and the object accelerated rapidly. Unfortunately right before it reached its target, Voldemort magically lifted the ground in front of him into a ramp and the concrete cylinder flew harmlessly over his head and down the street where it crushed several cars.

"Impressive, Potter!" Voldemort said as he waved his wand again, lowering the ground in front of him so that he could keep approaching Harry. "Let's see how you handle this..." Voldemort began waving his wand, frequently jabbing it into the air above his head, but Harry could not tell what the spell was doing. But then he followed Voldemort's gaze and looked into the sky above him. High in the air he could see a number of tiny orange-red dots. Whatever they were, Harry knew they were bad news.

Suddenly one of the speck appeared to be getting larger and Harry realized the objects were not tiny at all, just very high up in the air and one of them was falling quickly. As it grew closer Harry could finally see it clearly and recognize it for what it was: a large, burning chunk of rock falling to the ground like a meteorite. Harry sent a strong banishing curse towards the rock and was just able to hit it and knock it off course. Even so the boulder smashed into the ground about twenty feet from him and shook the ground like an earthquake. The impact had even formed a small crater and kicked up a cloud of dust that covered the area. Harry looked up to see that the rest of the burning rocks were now also beginning to fall and they were all headed towards him.

Harry knew that he couldn't simply divert all of these magically created meteorites like he had done previously, there were just too many of them for that. Time was running out for him to come up with a solution. With only moments left until the next one struck, Harry created a huge magical dome around himself and hoped it would be able to stop them. When Voldemort saw this a cruel smile formed on his face.

The rocks began crashing into Harry's shield one after another. When they finally stopped the area was covered with dust and debris and where Harry once stood was nothing but a pile of smoldering rubble. Voldemort cackled gleefully, certain that he had finally destroyed the boy who lived. His joy was short lived however because only seconds later the pile began to shake. The rubble was then thrown in every direction away from the pile and when it was clear once again Voldemort saw that Harry was standing in the middle of the crater still alive and well. Voldemort, angry that his attack had not worked, began angrily walking towards Harry throwing another barrage of curses.

Harry returned fire with his own curses, but both of them were surprised when their wands once again began to connect. A similar event had occurred at their last fight in the graveyard but still neither one of them knew what it meant. A magical dome formed around them as Harry and Voldemort fought for control of the connection. After a few moments of fighting, Harry knew that Voldemort was still vastly more powerful than he was and that he could not hold the connection for much longer. With a final push Harry broke the connection between their wands and rolled to the side. As he did he cast a strong cutting curse which caught Voldemort off guard. The spell caused a long, bloody gash to open up on the Dark Lord's chest as he roared in pain and fury.

"Crucio!" Voldemort yelled in his rage. Harry dodged the spell and responded with the acid spell he had stolen from Barty Crouch Junior. Unfortunately it bounced harmlessly off of a shield that Voldemort had wandlessly produced. The two powerful wizards continued to trade spells until Voldemort was finally able to catch Harry off guard with a bit of wandless animation. Behind Harry a large hand made of rock had been created and brought to life by Voldemort. Harry was completely unaware of its existence until its finger wrapped around him and began crushing him. Harry could not even move his wand because it was trapped at his side. He was defenseless before Lord Voldemort.

"Finally, I have you where I want you." Voldemort said. Around them Sirius and Daniel were still dueling with Lucius and Gabriel and therefore unable to help Harry. "You're hiding something from me, Potter, and now I am going to find out what this power I know not really is... Legilimens!"

Voldemort's mental assault actually began far weaker than Harry was expecting, mostly due to the Dark Lord not anticipating Harry's advanced mental defenses. When he realized that Harry was prepared to fight him, Voldemort once again let out a frustrated growl before turning the full power of his Legilimancy skill against his rival. Fortunately for Harry his shields were different than any Voldemort had encountered before due to the odd way in which he had learned the skill of Occlumancy. This made Voldemort's attack less effective than it would have otherwise been. Even so Harry could feel his defenses buckling under the force being exerted against him. He wasn't sure how long he could withstand the attack, but he knew he had no choice. There were far too many secrets in his head that Voldemort must never learn, chief among them his efforts to destroy the Horcruxes.

While Harry and Voldemort were struggling in their mental battle neither Sirius or Daniel had been able to end the fight against their opponents. Malfoy had always been one of the most talented Death Eaters and Gabriel had clearly fully recovered from his stay in Azkaban and returned to his full potential. All for men had suffered a variety of minor injuries, but nothing that would stop them from continuing their duels.

Several minutes had passed since the fighting began and Dumbledore had still not arrived as Harry expected him to. The strain on his mental shields was becoming too great and he knew that he had to do something unexpected or else Voldemort would be able to pry his mind open and look for whatever he wanted. His wand was still in his hand even though he couldn't move it much, but perhaps the small range of motion he had would be enough and even better Voldemort did not seem to notice what he was doing. Harry concentrated on his magic, remembering what Shacklebolt had taught him, and then released it all at once. The rock hand holding him captive exploded and sent chunks of rock flying in every direction. Though he was taken by surprise by this, Voldemort was still quick enough to raise a shield to protect him from the vast majority of the debris. Harry scrambled backwards in the following confusion, eager to put some distance between himself and Voldemort.

"Very well, Potter." Voldmort shouted as he lowered his shield. "If you won't give me the information I want, I'll just kill you."

"I don't think so, Tom." a familiar voice said from behind the Dark Lord. Voldemort scowled in recognition as he turned to face Dumbledore. Sirius and Daniel were standing next to him looking battered from their duels but still healthy. "Your minions have fled, leaving you here alone. Between the four of us that remain, I think we might even be able to beat you once and for all."

"You don't have any idea how powerful I have become old man." Voldemort retorted. "I promise you this Dumbledore, you will die by my hand. And soon."

"I had hoped that time would dull your arrogance, Tom. But it seems that hope was in vain." Dumbledore replied. His wand was in his hand but not pointed at Voldemort. He suspected that there would be no more fighting on this day. "Go Tom, we will finish this another day."

"No!" Harry yelled, raising his own anti-apparition ward just as Voldemort lowered his. Unfortunately though it took a large portion of his power and concentration to maintain it. "We can take him!"

"It seems the boy still wants to play, Dumbledore." Voldemort laughed, raising his wand back towards Harry. "Perhaps we shouldn't disappoint him."

"Let it go, Harry." Dumbledore commanded. "You aren't ready for this."

"We can't just let him go!" Harry pleaded.

"You fool!" Voldemort shouted back. "You don't have the power to keep me here!" With that Voldemort apparated away, tearing through Harry's ward as if it wasn't even there. The resulting backlash knocked Harry onto his back. He quickly got back to his feet and looked for Voldemort, but the Dark Lord was gone.

"Damn it!" Harry swore angrily. He stalked over to where Dumbledore was standing and let his temper flare. "You could have stopped him! Why did you let him go? We might not have been able to permanently kill him but at least we could destroy his body!"

"Even if that is so, and I don't believe it is, what then Harry?" Dumbledore sighed. "He would lived on and found a way to return. What's worse is he would be more likely to check on his Horcruxes and find that several of them have been destroyed. Until Hufflepuff's Cup and the snake are destroyed attempting to finish him off would be a mistake." At Dumbledore's mention of Nagini Harry blinked hard as the piece of the puzzle he had been missing finally fell into place. He was so angry at himself he almost forgot the argument he had been having with Dumbledore.

"The snake!" Harry said. "How could I have been so stupid! It was right in front of me all along!"

"Harry, what are you talking about?" Sirius asked curiously. He knew his godson was on to something.

"It all makes sense now. That's how Voldemort knew where the Dusleys lived, plus it's probably how he figured out I had come to help them today." Harry rambled on, not making sense to anyone around him. When he saw their confused faces he knew he had to explain. "For weeks now I've felt like someone has been watching me, but I couldn't figure out who it was. They didn't show up on the Marauder's Map either so Daphne and I thought maybe it was a house elf. But it wasn't. It was Nagini all along."

"Are you saying that Voldemort sent his Horcrux-snake into Hogwarts just to spy on you?" Daniel asked. "That's an awfully big risk."

"Tom would not think so." Dumbledore disagreed. "In his arrogance he would not even consider that his plan could possibly go wrong. Also, he doesn't yet realize that we even know of his Horcruxes."

"It might have worked, too." Harry added. "I still haven't actually seen Nagini, but I heard her talking to Voldemort somehow. At the time I just didn't realize I was listening to a conversation in Parseltongue."

"This is the Horcrux we thought would be the most difficult to get to." Sirius stated. "We can't just pass up this opportunity. But if we kill Nagini he'll probably realize we're targeting the Horcruxes."

"He might think the same thing when we kill Bellatrix." Daniel reminded him. "We're going to have to coordinate it and try to take out both at once. Catching him by surprise is our best hope. Harry, Albus, now that you know Nagini is somewhere in the castle can you track it down?"

"I believe so." Dumbledore nodded. "It is likely using the same passages the basilisk did when the Chamber of Secrets was opened."

"So when do we do this?" Harry asked eagerly. "I don't like being watched, and there's no telling what else the snake is up to."

"We have to wait for Bellatrix to fall for our trap." Sirius smiled. Neither Harry nor Dumbledore knew anything about his and Daniel's plan up to that point. "We're probably a week away, if that."

"Sirius, what are you up to?" Dumbledore asked with a worried expression on his face. "I did not approve this action."

"And we weren't going to win this war sitting around for your ok." Daniel replied. "Don't worry about our end of it Dumbledore, Sirius and I can handle it. You and Harry just take care of the snake."

"I don't like it, but very well." Dumbledore said. "Harry, you must speak of this to no one when we return. Not even your closest friends. The consequences of our plans being discovered are too great. You must also try not to change your habits in any way so as not to arouse suspicion."

"Fine." Harry said reluctantly. He didn't like the idea of keeping something this big from his friends and especially not Daphne. "It shouldn't be for too long, right?"

"We hope not." Sirius answered. A smile then crossed his face and he wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulder proudly. "Excellent work out there today, Harry. You actually fought that loser to a draw!"

"Thanks Sirius, but you're wrong about it being a draw." Harry replied. "He was never fighting at his full power. He was just toying with me, testing me to see how strong I really was. The only time he really tried was when he using Legilimancy, and for the most part I was able to fight him off then because I was lucky. Next time he won't be holding back."

"Don't get so down on yourself, you did very well." Daniel reminded him. "Next time you'll be better too."

"Yeah." Harry agreed uncertainly. "Hey did anyone see where the Dursleys went to?" He looked around but there was no sign of them.

"They portkeyed out before the fighting really started." Sirius informed him. "Was that your doing?""Yes." Harry confirmed. "At least they made it. I couldn't save Vernon though."

"Sorry kiddo." Sirius replied. "You did your best."

"Yes, you did. And there is still much for the rest of us to do." Dumbledore said. "The three of us will stay behind and attempt to clean up this mess, and I suspect there are quite a few muggles in need of Obliviation."

"In that case I really should be going." Harry said, smiling. "You guys have fun with that though. I think the rest of the street is at the bottom of the hill if you were wondering. Bye!" Harry apparated away before Sirius or Daniel could argue that he needed to stay behind and help. Sirius laughed heartily at Harry's attitude. 'Just like James!' he thought to himself between chuckles. The three of them would spend several hours repairing what only a few minutes of chaos had caused. But by the end of the day there were no physical signs indicating a battle had taken place on Privet Drive and none of the residents could seem to remember anything out of the ordinary happening that day.

* * *

Author's Note:

Yep, Voldemort just cast Meteo on Harry. Well at least I thought it was funny.

Thanks again for sticking with this story. Updates should be coming much more regularly from now on. Enjoy and please review!


	42. Chapter 42

"What's going on, Harry?" Daphne demanded to know. They were sitting in the library where they had agreed to work on some homework together earlier in the day. Harry, true to his word, had not told anyone about the planned attack on Voldemort's two remaining Horcruxes. He thought that he had also not acted suspiciously but obviously Daphne now suspected something was up that she was not privy to.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked uncomfortably. He could vaguely feel a dark sensation coming from the ceiling above him, evidence that Nagini was listening in on their conversation. As much as he wanted to be honest with Daphne, who knew that he simply could not right now.

"You know exactly what I mean!" Daphne said as loud as she could get away with in the library. "You've been acting strange ever since you got back from the Dursleys. Did something happen there you aren't telling me?"

"I'm fine Daphne, really." Harry insisted. "Yes, it was a bad situation and I wish it had not have happened but it's over now. I just don't see why you think something is so wrong with me."

"Besides the attitude, you've been forgetful." Daphne explained.

"Forgetful?" Harry asked, genuinely confused. "How?"

"What's today?" Daphne asked.

"Wednesday." Harry answered, still not understanding where she was going with this line of questioning.

"The date, Harry. What's the date?"

"I don't know." Harry replied. "October something."

"October the eleventh." Daphne reminded him. "And do you remember why that day might be important?"

"Crap!" Harry said, finally realizing his error. "I forgot your birthday!"

"Yeah, you did." Daphne replied angrily. "I thought that maybe you were just trying to get me to the library to surprise me with something, but obviously not."

"Daphne, I'm so sorry." Harry plead. "I've had a lot on my mind lately, but still that isn't a good excuse."

"No, it's not." Daphne agreed.

"I'm going to make this up to you, I swear." Harry said. "Can you forgive me?"

"Yes, but you owe me." Daphne replied. "I expect something sufficiently impressive."

"Duly noted." Harry said with a nod of his head. "Any hints?"

"You can start with telling me what is on your mind." Daphne suggested.

"I've just been busy, that's all." Harry lied, but as he did he raised his hand to his mouth and covered it while shaking his head back and forth. He gestured towards the ceiling. Daphne had no idea what was going on, but understood that for whatever reason Harry was trying to say he couldn't talk about it. That, however, was not really the answer she wanted to hear.

"Fine." Daphne said. "Well then, I actually already did my homework when I thought we might have other plans for tonight. I'll just leave you to finish yours. Good night, Harry." With that Daphne stood up, grabbed her things, and walked out of the library. Harry silently debated about whether or not to go after her but decided not to when he realized there was no way he could explain what was going on, especially not with Nagini listening. He just hoped that when all of this was over she would understand why he couldn't talk about it. Forgetting her birthday, on the other hand, was completely his fault and he knew he would have to do something impressive to make up for it.

* * *

Bellatrix laid on a couch in the Malfoy's living room boredly twirling a dagger in her hand and listening to her sister ramble on about some fancy party she had attended a year prior and how interesting it had been. In truth Bellatrix wasn't paying any attention to Narcissa but there was nothing better for her to do than pretend to listen. Bellatrix had never cared for social functions that the elite purebloods held and attended, she would much rather be out causing chaos amongst the mudbloods and muggles.

"... but of course the Parkinsons are fools if they think we'd ever allow our dear Draco to marry their whore daughter." Narcissa continued, apprently on a new subject that Bellatrix had also not been listening to. "You'd agree if you heard the way Draco says she acts at school."

"Narcissa, shut up." Bellatrix finally said. "I don't care." She did not even bother to look as her sister sighed in annoyance and left the room. Deep down Bellatrix knew it was not wise to anger her sister like that, especially not now since there were so few other places for her to go, but in the end her desire to provoke people won out. She didn't consider it to be her fault however, what else could they expect after keeping her trapped in this house for weeks on end? More than anything she wanted to be out in the world fighting for her master and seeking revenge on her enemies. That was the good life.

"Excuse me, Mrs Lestrange?" a new voice asked from the entrance to the living room. Bellatrix tilted her head slightly to see who it was, frowning when she didn't recognize the young man.

"What do you want?" she asked, her annoyance evident in her tone of voice. Her wand was already in her hand, just in case.

"I had heard you were looking for information on Sirius Black." he explained. "I have something that might be interesting to you."

"Well, what is it?" Bellatrix demanded as she rose to her feet.

"Actually I was wondering if there was some kind of reward, if the information helps of course." the young Death Eater said hopefully.

"How about this for a reward, you tell me everything you know and I won't cut out your intestines and feed them to you." Bellatrix replied, waving the dagger in her non-wand hand. "Does that work for you?"

"Yes ma'am." the man agreed nervously. "I first saw him last week, but I thought it was just a random thing. But he's come back every day since then, except for on the weekends."

"Slow down and start making sense." Bellatrix demanded. The Death Eater nodded and continued.

"Sirius Black shows up in Diagon Alley every day a little after one in the afternoon." he explained. "He usually goes straight to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. There was a girl that I didn't recognize with him once, but most times he is alone. After he's finished eating he spends an hour or so walking around Diagon Alley going different places. Today he spent about a half hour in Gringott's for some reason."

"That is interesting." Bellatrix said with an evil smile. "Poor cousin Sirius will have to be taught not to have such predictable habits."

"Will you need help?" the young Death Eater asked, silently hoping to be told no.

"You'd just get in the way." Bellatrix said dismissively, eliciting a sigh of relief from her guest. "Speak of this to no one else, Sirius Black dies by my hand and no one else's. Is that clear?"

"Yes, of course." the man agreed.

"Now leave." Bellatrix commanded happily. "I have a family murder to plan." The Death Eater quickly did as she asked and as he left the house he could clearly hear the demented witch laughing gleefully. He swore at that moment never to return to the house.

* * *

Later that night Harry opened the door to Dumbledore's office wondering what the Headmaster could want from him. He had been delivered a note just before curfew requesting a meeting. He suspected it had something to do with their search for Nagini which they had not spoken of since leaving the Dursleys. Even so Harry had carefully monitored the movements of the snake in the hopes that he could discover an easy way to catch it.

"Thank you for coming, Harry." Dumbledore said as Harry entered the room. "Take a seat, we have much to discuss."

"Ok, Professor." Harry replied as he sat down in a chair across from Dumbledore. "What's going on?"

"I have spent most of this week tracking down the snake-"

"Sir!" Harry yelled, worried that their conversation could be overheard.

"Do no worry, Harry." Dumbledore assured him. "I have taken precautions to ensure all that is said here remains confidential. This is something I have done in the past and I do not expect it to surprise Voldemort."

"Sorry." Harry replied. "I guess I should have known it was something like that."

"All the same it is wise for you to be so cautious." Dumbledore said. "I have found that the beast typically either rests or hunts for food while you are in class. At most other times it is quite active following you and exploring the castle."

"When is the best time to get to it then?" Harry asked.

"I do not believe it will be hard to capture and that can probably be done whenever it is needed, however I do worry about what types of protections Voldemort will have placed on the snake." Dumbledore explained. "I was hoping you might have some insight on that aspect."

"I think I know most of what to expect, but if Voldemort has made any recent additions to Nagini's defenses I won't know about those." Harry said. "First off it is extremely spell resistant, about as much so as a dragon in fact. It's still possible to kill it with a curse, but very difficult. It's also very strong and fast with near human intelligence. One advantage we have is that it doesn't actually have any way to magically attack us or escape."

"How interesting." Dumbledore remarked. "If not magic then perhaps a physical attack of some kind. Your basilisk fang, perhaps?"

"That would work, but I already gave it to Sirius to destroy Hufflepuff's Cup with." Harry replied. "I'm pretty sure Fiendfyre would kill it."

"Fiendfyre is notoriously difficult to control, even for powerful wizards such as ourselves." Dumbledore objected. "I would prefer another option."

"I still have some basilisk venom, maybe we could just pour it on a weapon and use that against Nagini." Harry suggested. At that moment a new thought entered his mind and he knew exactly what to do. "We don't need to make a new weapon at all! We can just use Gryffindor's Sword!"

"Precisely!" Dumbledore said happily. "I was wondering how long it would take you to consider that."

"What was this, a test?" Harry asked, uncertain what Dumbledore was up to. "Why?"

"Your skills in magic have grown greatly over the last year, I simply wanted to assure myself that your logical skills had not been neglected." Dumbledore laughed. "Clearly they have not."

"So can I have the sword now?" Harry asked. He was eager to have the legendary weapon back in his hands. "I was the last one to use it after all."

"I think I will keep it until it is needed, though I agree you are probably the one most likely to use it." Dumbledore said. "Stay vigilant Harry, Sirius believes the time to strike could come very soon."

"I will." Harry promised. "Anything else, Professor?"

"I do not believe so." Dumbledore answered, although he sounded like there was more on his mind that he wasn't saying. "You may go."

Harry nodded and left the room, wondering what Dumbledore was really thinking. It was hard for him to understand the thought processes of the Headmaster though, even after fighting with and helping him over the past year. Things had changed so much since then that it almost seemed like a lifetime ago that his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire and set so many things into action. Even he had changed in ways he had not thought possible. He laughed at the thought that perhaps Dumbledore had as much trouble understanding him as he did understanding Dumbledore. It was entirely possible, he concluded with a laugh as he passed the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. Above him, Nagini wondered why the boy was laughing and quickly slithered after him.

* * *

Bellatrix Lestrange hated crowds, and on this day Diagon Alley was unusually busy. Her only comfort was the knowledge that the masses of people would make it easier to stalk her prey unnoticed until the time was right for her to strike. She had no intention of killing Sirius in Diagon Alley, that would come much later after she had fully amused herself torturing him in a variety of gruesome ways that only a true psychopath could ever imagine. In fact she had not slept the night before because she was so eager to modify the Malfoy's basement into a dungeon for her own use. When her work was finally over Bellatrix was quite proud of what she had accomplished. Only one task remained: bringing in Sirius.

Bellatrix was presently leaning against the wall of one of the shops lining Diagon Alley watching the apparition point. She had decided to disguise herself so as to better be able to track and capture her traitorous cousin and as of yet no one had seemed to notice her. She had not moved from her spot since she arrived there a half hour ago, but that did not bother her. She had to be sure that she was there when Sirius arrived. If the information she had received was correct he should appear at the apparition point in a few more minutes, but the younger Death Eaters were notoriously unreliable. The thought made her growl in disgust, such fools were not worthy to serve her master.

Her impatience had begun building to a crescendo as the time that Sirius was supposed to arrive neared. When it was finally 1:15 PM she angrily grasped her wand and wanted to curse something because Sirius was not there. But then, just as she was imagining how she would punish the idiot who gave her false information, Sirius apparated into Diagon Alley and began walking towards the Leaky Cauldron. Bellatrix followed behind him close enough so that she would not lose him but far enough back that he would not suspect he was being followed. Luckily for her, Sirius never once looked back over he shoulder or made a single move to detect potential threats. Bellatrix couldn't help but laugh at his mistake, but she failed to notice that with all of her focus on Sirius she was making the exact same one.

Sirius made it to the Leaky Cauldron before Bellatrix could make her move against him. Disappointed, Bellatrix sat on a bench across the street watching the front window and waiting for Sirius to leave. Yet again she was frustrated with the delay, but at least this time she had her target in her sights. She paid no attention to the people on the street passing by, not even to a beautiful young witch that glanced her way every so often about fifty feet to her right.

Tonks, of course, looked nothing like what her Aunt Bellatrix would expect her to look like. Her hair was long and blonde to go with her bright blue eyes, all copied from a model on the cover of a muggle magazine that she had seen earlier in the day. She had arrived at Diagon Alley fifteen minutes before Sirius, as usual, and was immediately informed by Daniel that he had spotted a witch taking an unusual interest in the apparition point. Upon inspection, Tonks agreed with Daniel and the feeling that this was finally the day the caught Bellatrix Lestrange began to grow.

"Damn, I don't think she's even blinked in the last ten minutes." Tonks whispered over their magical communications link. On the other end she heard Daniel chuckling at her observation. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes." Daniel confirmed. "I'll be getting into position once Sirius finishes lunch, you just keep trailing Bellatrix."

"Aye, aye captain." Tonks replied with a laugh. She had to be careful not to use the link too much, it would ruin things if Bellatrix became aware of her presence. A quick glance at her watch told her that Sirius should be leaving the Leaky Cauldron in another five minutes. She didn't really enjoy waiting either. Luckily the time passed fairly quickly for her and soon Sirius was on the move again with Bellatrix right behind him. This day was unlike the others because instead of shopping in Diagon Alley Sirius had a different destination: Knockturn Alley.

No one was more surprised about this than Bellatrix. She almost cackled in glee when she saw where he was going because the darker shopping district would make it much easier to capture Sirius with minimum fuss. It was looking to be a very good day for her indeed, she thought. She continued following him and noticed he seemed a bit more tense in Knockturn Alley than he did Diagon Alley. Perhaps, she wondered, her cousin was doing something he didn't want to get caught doing. That just made the chase all the more interesting.

Suddenly Sirius turned down an alley and for a moment Bellatrix lost sight of her target. She ran towards where she had seen him go desperate to not let him get away. The alley Sirius had entered was only about thirty feet long and ended in a brick wall. There was however another alley connected to it leading to the left from the end of the alley. When Bellatrix entered the alley Sirius had already exited the other way, but this only encouraged Bellatrix. She knew this part of town very well and was certain that this alley ended in a dead end. Sirius, and whoever he was likely meeting, would be trapped. She hoped that by the end of the day she would have killed her annoying cousin and perhaps captured a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Slowing down so she wouldn't be heard, Bellatrix drew her wand and prepared to ambush Sirius.

The moment she turned the corner she knew something had gone horribly wrong. Sirius was nowhere to be seen and she could sense an anti-apparition ward being cast on the entire area. Bellatrix slowly walked to the end of the alley, hoping for some clue as to what was going on.

"Looking for me, Bella?" Sirius asked from the entrance of the alley, causing Bellatrix to spin in his direction with her wand pointed at him. The deadly smile returned to her face. "Well here I am."

"Good, I was afraid you had run." Bellatrix replied. "Now we can finish this."

"I didn't come to fight fair." Sirius informed her. A woman stepped into the alley beside Sirius and smirked at her. Bellatrix was a little confused by this because she didn't recognize the woman and the Death Eaters felt they had good information on who was in the Order of the Phoenix.

"Oops, I forgot to take off my disguise didn't I?" Tonks asked. A moment later her face and hair returned to normal as she revealed herself. "Long time no see, Aunt Bellatrix."

"You're that blood traitor Andromeda's daughter. Nymphadora." Bellatrix realized. "It's a family reunion!"

"Don't call me Nymphadora." Tonks demanded, raising her wand and pointing it at her aunt's head. "Or else I'll get angry."

"How cute." Bellatrix commented. "The two of you really think you can beat me, the Dark Lord's best soldier?"

"No, Bella." Sirius said. "The three of us do."

Bellatrix looked confused for a moment before a loud whistle was heard from the top of one of the surrounding buildings. She looked up to see Daniel Greengrass peering over the ledge at them with his wand pointed directly at her. Bellatrix sneered at him, but inside she was worried. There was no clear path of escape for her.

"So what now, cousin?" Bellatrix asked. "Going to hand me over to that old fool Dumbledore?"

"No, Bella." Sirius answered with a shake of his head. "We brought you here to kill you."

"So there is still some Black blood in your veins!" Bellatrix laughed. "But do you really have it in you to cast AVADA KEDAVRA!" The killing curse burst from her wand and streaked towards Sirius. Bellatrix had realized that attacking suddenly was perhaps her only chance of survival. Sirius leapt to the side to avoid the spell while Tonks summoned a nearby trashcan to intercept it. As a result the spell had no chance of reaching its target. Bellatrix was just beginning the wand movements for a follow up spell when she suddenly found that she could not move. Daniel Greengrass had hit her in the back with a Petrificus Totalus.

"Good work, Daniel." Sirius said as he brushed himself off and stood back up. Meanwhile Daniel was climbing down from his perch to join the others. "Have anything to say, Bella?"

Bellatrix's eyes, the only part of her body she could really move, flared angrily but she was unable to say anything in response. Tonks took the chance to steal the wand out of her aunt's hand and placed it in her back pocket, leaving the Death Eater completely defenseless.

"You know Bella, you were right." Sirius said as he walked up to his cousin. "I've never cast the killing curse before and I never will. Maybe I just don't have it in me. But I can cast this one: Lacero!"

The cutting curse ripped through Bellatrix's neck as if it wasn't even there. As her head was separated from her body and she died the spell holding her in place was cancelled allowing her body to fall to the ground in a graceless pile. Tonks turned and coughed, trying not to vomit at the gruesome sight.

"What about the body?" Sirius asked.

"I'll take care of that." Daniel replied. He then transfigured Bellatrix's body into a trashcan and her head into the lid. Sirius couldn't help but laugh at his cousin's fate. "That should last for a week or so, more than enough time than we need. Hopefully nobody will be looking for her any time soon."

"I'm headed to Gringott's now." Sirius nodded. "Her vault's records will have already recorded her death, from there it should be fairly simple to get in and destroy Hufflepuff's Cup. Harry gave me his basilisk fang."

"Speaking of Harry, you need to let him know that it's time to strike against the snake." Daniel replied. "He needs to do it soon, our window of opportunity could be very small."

"I'll tell him now." Sirius said. With that he pulled the charmed mirror out of his cloak and activated it.

* * *

Harry was on his way to Potions class when he heard the familiar sound of his charmed mirror activating. Sirius was obviously trying to contact him and he suspected he knew what that meant. Harry rushed out of the hall and into an empty classroom before pulling the mirror out of his bag.

"Sirius!" Harry said when he saw the face of his godfather in the mirror.

"Hey Harry." Sirius said. "I just wanted to let you know that thing I promised I do for you is almost done. Actually it will be in an hour or so." Sirius was purposefully being vague so that no one would be able to learn what they were up to by overhearing the conversation.

"That's great!" Harry said. "Thanks for that, Sirius."

"No problem." Sirius replied. "I guess I'll talk to you later. I'm sure you have lots to do."

"Exactly." Harry agreed. "Bye, Sirius!" Harry put the mirror away and smiled to himself. Voldemort was closer to being defeated than he had ever been, and the best part was that he didn't even know it. Harry immediately decided to skip Potions, his least favorite class anyway, and make his way to Dumbledore's office to tell him the good news. Harry practically ran across the Hogwarts campus he was so eager to finish his task. The only thing that slowed him down was the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office, which took its time opening up despite Harry yelling "Chocolate frogs!" at it.

"It's time!" Harry yelled as he burst through the doors. Dumbledore was inside speaking with Professor McGonagall and upon seeing Harry Dumbledore looked amused while McGonagall looked upset.

"Mr Potter, you are supposed to be in Potions with Professor Snape right now!" McGonagall scolded him. "Go now and hope he isn't in a bad mood."

"No, Minerva." Dumbledore cut in. "Mr Potter is exactly where he is supposed to be. Professor Snape will have to understand that some things take precedence over classwork. If that is all, Harry and I have much to discuss. Thank you, Minerva."

Professor McGonagall could sense that she was being dismissed, and with a frustrated huff she left the office and closed the door behind her. Dumbledore chuckled at her behavior as she left.

"I do believe we have upset Professor McGonagall." Dumbledore commented. "Though I suspect she would be thrilled if she knew what we were up to. It's safe to talk here, Harry. What has happened?"

"Sirius just told me that their part of the plan has been completed, or will be soon which I guess means they took out Bellatrix Lestrange." Harry informed the Headmaster. Dumbledore did not approve of his apparent joy at hearing of another person's death, but understood the reasoning behind it. "Now it's up to us to finish this. And for that we need the sword."

"Indeed." Dumbledore agreed. He subtly motioned to a case on the wall where the Gryffindor's Sword was proudly displayed, which Harry took as an indication that he should take it out. Very carefully he lifted the weapon from its holder and felt for the first time in years the power it contained. It seemed almost warm in his hand, as if there was where it truly belonged. Harry could not help but grin in satisfaction as he held it. "I have also prepared a room in which to trap Nagini. If we can lure it there the snake will have no chance to escape."

"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed. "Let's go."

"I shall lead the way." Dumbledore chuckled. Together the two wizards departed from the office and began walking through Hogwarts. Soon they had passed through a secret door Harry had never noticed before and was pretty sure was not on the Marauder's Map which led to an unused portion of the school. Harry wondered what other Hogwarts secrets the Headmaster knew of that he didn't, the list was bound to be quite long. After several minutes of walking they reached a door which led in to what appeared to be a cleared out classroom. There were no tables or chairs or anything else to indicate it had been used in the recent past in it.

"Here we are. Now we wait." Dumbledore explained. And he was right, Harry realized. He could not sense Nagini's presence nearby, despite the fact that the snake had been following him earlier. He suspected that Nagini was having difficulty navigating into this part of the castle. Perhaps not even Voldemort knew it existed. His thoughts were interrupted shortly later when he felt the familar presence of Nagini nearby. Harry noticed a small grin on Dumbledore's face, he had obviously notice it as well.

"Get the sword ready." Dumbledore commanded. Harry nodded and held the sword in front of him, prepared to strike when needed. He could feel that Nagini was getting closer and closer, but was still not exactly where they wanted. Tense moments passed as they waited until Harry felt that the snake was right where they wanted. He urgently looked towards Dumbledore who shook his head, obviously wanting to wait a few more seconds. Finally the Headmaster calmly said "Hogwarts, seal this room!"

The door slammed shut and locked instantly. Harry could hear other changes going on around the room that he couldn't see, but he suspected their effect was that Nagini was trapped where it was. Dumbledore brought out his wand and effortlessly blasted away a section of the ceiling, A huge, dark mass fell from the destroyed ceiling and slammed powerfully into the ground. Nagini hissed angrily as it tried to recover from the fall and attack its captors. It took mere moments for the snake to realize its new position and the location of its attackers before quickly lunging in Harry's direction. Harry's instincts were far too good however and he was able to sidestep the best and bring the sword down on it in one fluid motion. In one swing the snake was cut in half and left writhing in pain on the ground.

"Finish it, Harry." Dumbledore said. Harry nodded and approached the snake's head, which turned to look at its destroyer. In the moment before Harry brought the blade down on Nagini and ended its life, the snake looked up at Harry with a look of pure hatred. Harry felt absolutely certain in that moment Voldemort was seeing him though his Horcrux's eyes. Then, in a flash, it was all over. One more of Voldemort's Horcruxes was destroyed.

They would find out shortly afterwards that Sirius' mission at Gringott's had also been a total success with no problems at all. For the first time in decades Lord Voldemort was once again mortal, but Harry knew this would not make him any less dangerous. The real battle against the Dark Lord was just about to begin.


	43. Chapter 43

By the time Lord Voldemort left the small shack the Gaunt family once lived in the flames had already consumed much of it and the pitiful structure was beginning to collapse. The Dark Lord's rage was not quenched by this small act however, and would not be until he shed the blood of his enemies. They would pay for their crimes against him.

Watching the last moments of Nagini's life through the snakes own eyes had been a truly shocking event for Voldemort. Another one of his precious anchors to this world had somehow been destroyed without him ever even realizing it was in danger. To his knowledge that meant his supply of Horcruxes had been reduced from five to four. Malfoy had suffered once for losing the diary Voldemort had placed in his care and on that day he would suffer for it again, despite not knowing why he was being punished. It was not until the next day, however, that a measure of doubt regarding the safety of his remaining Horcruxes began to form in his mind. Surely the others were safe, he reasoned, because the know one else knew of their existence and they were all hidden.

It was the strange disappearance of Bellatrix Lestrange that finally prompted him to check on his Horcruxes. One Horcrux being destroyed on the same day that the protector of another vanished was just too much of a coincidence to be believed. Having made up his mind, Voldemort decided to start with the Horcrux he believed to be the safest: Slytherin's Locket.

He had not visited the vast cave in which he had hidden the locket since he placed it there many years ago. Though others would consider it a hellish place, he was proud of the enchantments and obstacles he had put in place to prevent others from gaining access to the precious item containing a piece of his soul. As a borrowed house elf was driven insane by a potion he forced it to drink Voldemort had time to reassure himself that his fears were unfounded. No one could possibly know of this place, the very idea was ridiculous. His confidence only increased the fury he felt when he realized that his Horcrux was gone, stolen decades ago by the traitor Regulus Black. It suddenly became clear to him how Black had known of the cave, it was after all his house elf that Voldemort had used to place it there. He immediately killed the house elf he had brought along, even though it did him little good since his Horcrux was already gone.

His next stop was the Gaunt shack where he found that Horcrux too was also missing and presumed destroyed. Someone, somehow, had learned his most precious secret and used it against him. Though he had no way to verify it he knew he must now assume that all of his Horcruxes had been destroyed until he could prove otherwise. But how could this have happened? Clearly Regulus Black had discovered his secret. Had Regulus Black then told his brother Sirius and the Order of the Phoenix about his Horcruxes? If so then they would have had years to seek out and destroy them, but clearly they had not been completely successful. He knew for a fact that only a few years ago Ravenclaw's Diadem was still safely hidden within one of Hogwarts most secret rooms, he had verified that while he possessed the weakling Quirrel.

Assuring his own immortality was the most important task. But once that was accomplished he would make his enemies pay in blood and pain in ways they could not even imagine. The time for peace was fully at an end.

* * *

"... So you see I couldn't tell you what we were doing because we were afraid Nagini might overhear." Harry explained, hoping his girlfriend would understand. They were sitting in the Great Hall eating lunch while Harry told his side of the story. Although there was no one nearby except for Hermione and Neville who were having their own conversation about a prefect's meeting the night before Harry was still careful to describe things in vague terms and speak quietly so only Daphne could hear. "I wanted to tell you."

"I don't know, Harry." Daphne replied skeptically. "Didn't you say you could sense when the snake was nearby?"

"Most of the time." Harry confirmed. "But what if I made a mistake? It would have ruined everything."

"Alright, I'll forgive you." Daphne sighed. "But only because it was for a really good reason and you've already promised to make it up to me. How are you going to do that?"

"Well..." Harry stammered, clearly not prepared to answer the question. "This is a Hogsmeade weekend. We could do something there."

"Hogsmeade?" Daphne laughed. "Come on, Harry. We would have gone there anyway."

"You better come up with something good." Hermione interjected. "I mean you even remembered my birthday."

"Thanks for the help, Hermione." Harry said before sticking his tongue out at his friend to the amusement of everyone at the table. "What about you Neville? Are you taking their side, too?"

"I think that's probably the smart thing to do, Harry." Neville replied, nodding. "There's two of them and just one of you."

Harry shrugged, knowing this was one battle he stood no chance of winning. But, all things considered, he was having a very good week. He fully understood the magnitude of what they had been able to accomplish. Now Voldemort was nothing more than a dark wizard, albeit an incredibly powerful one with many loyal followers. He could finally be killed and peace would return to the world once again. Perhaps, as Dumbledore believed, it truly would be his fate to strike the killing blow against the dark lord. As his last encounter showed he was clearly not ready for that, but every day he improved and Harry knew that he would eventually be Voldemort's equal. He only hoped that day would come soon.

* * *

All of the Death Eaters in Voldemort's base froze when they heard their masters angry roar. No one was quite sure what he had been doing for the past few days and despite their curiosity they were smart enough to know not to ask. Still they understood that whatever was happening it did not make the Dark Lord happy. Many of them decided that now would be a good time to find something to do far away from Voldemort.

The Dark Lord had sequestered himself in a room that none of his Death Eaters had ever dared enter, but it was far from empty. On a stone table in the center of the room a female muggle teenager was screaming hysterically and thrashing against the bonds that held her in place. Voldemort however showed no signs of listening to her pleas and proceeded with the preparations of the ritual he was seeking to complete. It should have been a simple task for him, and yet he was facing complications.

"Avada Kedavra." Voldemort said finally, casting the killing curse and ending the young girl's screams. He waited a moment before casting a diagnostic spell to verify his plan had worked. Unfortunately for him though the results came out negative, just like his previous attempts that day. Voldemort growled angrily before banishing the girl's remains off of the table and into a corner of the room where it collided with the bodies of several other muggles who had died similarly before her. For the first time in many hours the room was completely quiet.

Voldemort had no idea why his attempts to create a new Horcrux were not working but suspected it had to do with how little of his soul he had left. Over the years he had abused and attacked it until his humanity was for all intents and purposes gone. He considered bringing in more victims to continue trying but somehow knew that would be pointless. That path to immortality was now closed to him forever, but there were rumors of other paths that one could take to achieve the same result. He had never needed them before, but now he knew he would have to search for new magic to ensure his eternal dominance among all wizards.

But now it was time to punish his enemies for their crimes. Despite his anger, that thought made him smile.

* * *

Harry, Daphne, Hermione, and Neville chatted happily as their carriage made its way from Hogwarts to the nearby village of Hogsmeade. It was a bright, sunny day but also one of the coldest of the fall so far. Harry was looking forward to the day more than the others because he had finally come up with a way to surprise his girlfriend, he only hoped that she would like it. He had not told anyone but Neville what he was going to do but was happy that Neville at least seemed to think it was a winning plan.

"Where to first?" Hermione asked as the carriage neared Hogsmeade. "Maybe Honeydukes before lunch at the Three Broomsticks? Oh and I wanted to go to Scrivenshaft's and pick up some new quills!"

"Settle down, Hermione." Harry laughed. "You'll have time for all of that. But Daphne and I won't be joining you."

"We won't?" Daphne asked curiously. "Where will we be?"

"That's the surprise!" Harry replied. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Daphne groaned in disappointment but underneath that was a smile. She did enjoy surprises. Finally the cart came to a stop and the four teenagers climbed down and stood at the edge of the village, three of them waiting to see what would happen next.

"Can I ask a big favor of you two?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between Neville and Hermione. "Cover for us?" Hermione was about to ask him what he meant but without warning Harry grabbed Daphne's hand and the two of them vanished. Neville merely laughed at the sight while Hermione looked angry and confused.

"Harry James Potter, what do you think you're doing?!" Hermione yelled to the spot where her friend stood only moments before. "And you Neville, you're a prefect! You know that's against the rules. So where did he apparate to?"

"They should be in London by now." Neville answered, hoping to avoid Hermione's wrath.

"Why?" Hermione asked. "Are they going to Diagon Alley?"

"No, not Diagon Alley. Muggle London." Neville explained. "Harry thought Daphne would enjoy seeing it. Besides, he deserves to have a little fun doesn't he?"

"I suppose. I just wish he had warned me first." Hermione said. She took one last look at where her friends had been before shrugging and turning towards the village. "So what are you going to do, Neville?"

"You said something about Scrivenshafts." Neville replied. "I could use some new quills, too."

"Great!" Hermione said, happy to have someone to enjoy the day with. "Let's go." Hermione began walking towards the village and Neville fell in to step beside her. For the next few hours they explored the village and enjoyed their day. Meanwhile Harry was, as Neville had told Hermione, attempting to impress his girlfriend with fun and new things to do in the muggle world. Few purebloods ever ventured in to the other part of London so he knew he could at least show her things she had not seen before. Once Daphne had gotten over the shock of being side along apparated all the way to London she fully enjoyed herself.

Over the next few hours Hogsmeade became filled with Hogwarts students as it usually did on Hogsmeade weekends. The streets and shops were full of happy teens spending their money and wasting their time. But their peaceful day was fated to come to an end.

Unseen by anyone in Hogsmeade, Lord Voldemort had apparated to a hill overlooking the village and spent the morning watching it and waiting for the right moment. His plans were known only to a small group of Death Eaters who were currently tasked with finding the remaining giants and bringing them to this location. When he was ready he would summon the rest of the Death Eaters and begin their attack.

As he watched Voldemort considered the peaceful village and the chaos he planned on bringing to it. He enjoyed knowing he had the power to make such radical changes and no one had the power to stop him.

"My lord, the giants are in place as you asked." a Death Eater he had no interest in recognizing said as Voldemort continued to observe the village.

"I understand why so many describe this place as beautiful." Voldemort said to himself.

"Lord?" the Death Eater asked in confusion.

"Now I shall destroy it." Voldemort continued with a smirk on his face. "By the end of the day I want this place wiped off the face of the Earth."

"As you wish." the servant agreed.

"Give me your arm." Voldemort demanded. The Death Eater complied and Voldemort pressed his wand to the Dark Mark, sending out a signal to the Death Eaters he wanted there that their master required them. Over the next few minutes they began appearing and soon nearly two dozen Death Eaters were huddled on the hill, hidden by tall trees from being seen from the village. Voldemort specifically did not call Severus Snape, not because he distrusted the man but because Dumbledore would surely notice the man he thought was his spy suddenly leaving the castle.

"On my order, we will destroy Hogsmeade." Voldemort informed them. "Leave no building standing."

"My lord!" Lucius Malfoy said, surprising the others. "We were not warned of this attack. Some of us have children down there."

"Then try not to kill them." Voldemort said, unconcerned with Malfoy's complaint. Lucius looked nervous and unhappy, but said nothing else. "Now, release the giants."

Their handlers quickly went about their work. Getting a giant to perform a specific task is never easy and the job is made exponentially more difficult when dealing with a large group of them. But these men had years of experience behind them and knew just how to properly motivate the giants. In a few short minutes the huge creatures went from lazily sitting in a clearing on the other side of the mountain to angrily roaring and climbing the hills towards Hogsmeade as quickly as they could. There were eight of them in total, more than enough to reduce a village like Hogsmeade to rubble.

The roars the giants made were the first indication to those in Hogsmeade that something was very wrong. When they started people stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes towards the noises, wondering what in the world they could be. Then they could see movement in the trees but there was still no panic because no one knew what was happening.

"GIANTS!" someone shouted suddenly. That was all it took cause chaos in the village as frightened students and townsfolk ran for their lives. Many foolishly ran inside, hoping that the buildings would protect them. The smarter ones knew that buildings made of wood and bricks stood no chance of stopping an angry giant. They began running back up the path towards Hogwarts, praying that they would be able to make it before the attach truly started.

Luckily for those in Hogsmeade the giants attack was not at all well organized. Two of them had collided with each other on the way to the village begun fighting, reducing the number of giants focused on the village to six. Half of those were content to simply rip up trees and a field full of crops waiting to be harvested just on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. But the remaining three attacked Hogsmeade viciously, starting first with the people still in the streets. The first casualty of the day was a witch in her third year in Hufflepuff who froze in terror at the sight of the giants and was then crushed under one of their massive feet.

A few students tried to fight back against the giants, but their weak Stupefy's and Reducto's did little to slow their huge opponents. More often than not all their actions did was bring them to the attention of the giants, forcing them to then run as fast as they could in a effort to avoid the giant's wrath. Some of them would be able to avoid their pursuers, others would not be so fortunate.

Two of the heroes that day were Fred and George Weasley. The twins had been in Honeyduke's buying candy and trying to sell their joke products when the attack started. They both quickly realized that leaving as fast as they could was the best option and that they knew of a better way to do it than anyone else. Fred ran and threw open the trap door which lead to the secret passage back to Hogwarts, surprising even the staff in the shop who were unaware of the passage's existence.

"Everyone through here!" Fred yelled. "It leads back to Hogwarts!" To prove his point Fred was the first to jump down into the passage. Those around him quickly followed suit while George tried his best to guide everyone in the store to the secret exit. Due to their efforts not a single person in Honeyduke's died when the building was smashed to pieces a few minutes later.

According to Hogwarts rules at least two Professors must be at Hogsmeade during student visits at any given time. This day was no exception. The duty of watching the students on this day had fallen to Professor Flitwick and Hagrid, both of whom immediately leapt into action as soon as the attack began. Hagrid, being a half-giant, was not nearly big enough or strong enough to take a fully grown giant on by himself but with Professor Flitwick's assistance the two were able to stop one of the giants in its tracks and prevent it from attacking any students. Flitwick spent his time running around the giant casting spells in an effort to confuse it and in doing so came close to being stepped on several times but his magically enhanced speed made the difference and saved him. Due mostly to Flitwick's prodding, this part of the battle slowly moved away from the groups of students.

"Neville!" Hermione cried from just outside the Three Broomsticks. "We have to do something!" All around them the chaos was continuing to spread. Despite the resistance offered up by a few individuals the town of Hogsmeade was quickly being overrun and demolished by the giants. Several buildings were already collapsing and the screams of those still trapped inside could be heard from even far away.

"What?" Neville asked. "I can't fight a giant!"

"Don't worry about that, just try to protect me." Hermione replied, the determination evident on her face.

"We need to get out of here." Neville pleaded. "What are you doing?"

"Calling in some help." Hermione answered. For a moment nothing happened other than Hermione closing her eyes and looking like she was deep in concentration. But then she began to move her arms in a strange pattern, exactly as Neville had seen once before. Hernione had long ago disillusioned the thin, silver ritual bracelets she wore but now that she was beginning the spell they began to glow and became visible once again. Neville nervously watched with his wand held out in front of him, ready to cast his strongest shield to protect them but worried it would not be enough.

A strange ball of energy began forming in front of Hermione which, after a few moments, began to flatten and widen becoming larger and larger as time passed. The portal positioned itself horizontally in the center of the main street in Hogsmeade and continued to grow. Finally the glow surrounding Hermione faded and the portal stopped growing. At first nothing happened, but then a huge hand sprang forth from the portal and gripped the road beside it. The ground began to lightly tremble as something massive began climbing out of the hole. The figure that finally appeared was slightly larger than even the biggest giant, but it wore a full suit of armor similar to that warn by Roman soldiers thousands of years ago. Apart from a very faint blue hue in its skin the thing appeared human. Strapped to its back was a huge sword, just the right size for its master. Unlike the giants though, this creature had a look of intelligence about him. The summoned creature's eyes darted towards one of the giants and with a look of recognition he knew who his enemy was. He charged at the giant and thrust his sword through the chest of the surprised creature who roared in defeat before falling over dead. Having finished one off, the huge soldier turned to look for other foes.

"Death Eaters, ATTACK!" Voldemort roared. His minions followed his command without question, apparating down into the town to continue in its destruction. Voldemort sat back for a few moments, considering what he had just seen. Somehow, he reasoned, Dumbledore had found someone capable of breaking through the wall that separated Earth from the underworld and unleashed some sort of hell-beast on his giants. He had always considered this to be impossible, but the proof he was wrong lay right in front of him. Voldemort grew envious of the power he did not possess and vowed to claim it for himself through what ever means necessary. The Dark Lord pulled a potion vial out of his robes and gazed at it with a look of disgust. He both despised and craved the strengthening potion that enabled him to fight at full strength, but he also worried its effects were clouding his judgment. With a shake of his head he downed the potion and threw the vial to the ground.

In the village itself, very few of the Death Eaters were actually casting spells designed to kill. Too many of them had children somewhere in Hogsmeade and were reluctant to endanger them. Voldemort, eager to not have his plans discovered, had not given his followers time to warn their family's to avoid Hogsmeade and as a result had reduced their effectiveness. Even so the slaughter continued and none of Hogwarts' houses were spared, not even Slytherin.

Strangely, the first reinforcements to arrive were not from Hogwarts but Aurors from the Ministry of Magic. The owner of Dervish and Banges would later report that he had been making a floo-call to his brother that worked in the Ministry when the attack started and was immediately able to request help. The Aurors however provided the Death Eaters with a target they were happy to attack and all focus turned towards them as the battle continued.

Voldemort finally apparated into Hogsmeade, intent on tracking down whoever had summoned the beast slaughtering his giants and determining how they were doing it. The Dark Lord could feel where the power was coming from and followed the sensation until he found Hermione, with Neville still bravely guarding her. Neither of them had yet realized that the Dark Lord's attention was focused on them, but another person who could recognize the power Hermione held had.

"Leave her alone, Voldemort!"

Voldemort turned at the request, curious who would dare defy him, and laughed at what he found.

"Aberforth!" Voldemort said cheerily. "The lesser Dumbledore. You don't know how happy I am to see that you've come out to play." Aberforth Dumbledore knew he stood no chance against Voldemort, but refused to back down either. Surely his brother was on his way, Aberforth reasoned, and if he could just delay things a bit he might even survive the day.

"I won't let you hurt them." Aberforth said bravely.

"You mean you won't be able to stop me." Voldemort corrected. "Why do you think you're still alive, Aberforth? It's because that is the way I wanted it."

"No, you have always been afraid of Albus." Aberforth replied. "You didn't dare kill me."

"I have never feared that old fool!" Voldemort yelled in response. "You don't even like your brother. What caused your feud is still a mystery to me, though I suspect it has something to do with the death of your sister."

"Quiet!" Aberforth said angrily, raising his wand in the process. "Reducto!" The spell flew towards Voldemort who seemed to laugh at his opponents feeble attack. Just before it reached the him, the Dark Lord swatted the spell away with his hand as if it was some mere annoyance. Aberforth's jaw dropped open in surprise, he had never seen anyone do that before. Not even his powerful brother.

"You were a fool to challenge me." Voldemort said with a shake of his head. "Avada Kedavra!" Aberforth tried to move out of the way of the spell, but it was coming too quickly and he was far too slow. His body fell gracelessly to the ground where it landed with a dull thump. Voldemort stared at the body for a moment before casting another spell, but nothing seemed to happen when it hit the corpse. The Dark Lord's attention now turned back to Hermione.

Neville was the first to notice Voldemort approaching him. His startled gasp drew Hermione's attention and she too shuddered in fear at what she saw. Before they knew it the Voldemort was right in front of them, staring curiously at Hermione. Despite his fear, Neville never left his position in front of Hermione. Finally noticing his presence, Voldemort silently fired a spell directly at Neville. Neville yelled out "Protego!", raising the strongest shield he could muster because he knew it would hit Hermione if he did not. Sadly Neville's shield was not able to resist the spell and it sent the young wizard tumbling to the ground with a mass of small, bleeding wounds all over his body. Thankfully though Hermione could see he was still breathing, although only with great difficulty.

"Who are you?" Voldemort demanded to know. "How did you open a gate to the underworld? Tell me how to control the beasts of hell." Hermione frowned, knowing that Voldemort misunderstood what he was seeing but unwilling to correct him on what was really happening. Her eyes darted around her but it was obvious there was no way for her to escape. "I will learn your secrets, even if I have to destroy your mind to do so." Hermione was able to recognize Voldemort's spell as a stunner just before it hit her. The speed and power with which he cast gave her very little time to respond, and in truth her mind and magic were preoccupied with maintaining the portal. The moment she fell unconscious both the portal and the massive creature that had come out of it disappeared, much to the surprise of everyone who had been watching it fight the giants.

Voldemort stepped back out into the street with Hermione's body being levitated behind him. The scene before him was one of pure chaos. The Aurors did not have the numbers or the magical power to overcome his Death Eaters, but the giants had not been able to inflict the damage on the village he had hoped for. Even so nearly half of the buildings in Hogsmeade were either near collapse or had already fallen. He expected the death count to be quite large when the carnage finally ended. Voldemort noticed that the Order of the Phoenix had finally arrived to take up the battle for with the Aurors. His forces no longer held the numerical advantage.

"I think you've done enough, Tom." the voice of Albus Dumbledore said, moments after apparating to a spot directly in front of Voldemort. "Perhaps it's time we end this."

"Dumbledore. Took you long enough to show up." Voldemort taunted. "Think of all the poor students who died while you did nothing. Speaking of students, where is Potter? I expected him to be here."

"Safe from you." Dumbledore answered simply. In truth, he didn't know where Harry was either. "This is your last chance, Tom. Leave or I will destroy you."

"If you honestly believed that you could beat me you already would have tried." Voldemort said dismissively. "But we've both heard the prophecy. You can not win against me. I, however, can beat you."

"Harry will land the final blow, but meanwhile I can weaken you and make his task easier." Dumbledore replied, not arguing with Voldemort's view of the prophecy. The two wizards began circling each other, each knowing a duel was imminent. They continued as before but each was looking for an opening.

"We'll see about that." Voldemort said. A small, evil smile then crept onto his face. "I do have a surprise for you Dumbledore. I'd like you to say hello to your brother."

Albus turned slightly towards where Voldemort had gestured and gasped. His brother Aberforth was obviously dead, but his body had been turned into an Inferius and was now lumbering towards a group of children trying to escape the village. Dumbledore knew that if his brother's animated corpse caught the children it would rip them to shreds, and he had no choice about what must be done. The flames shot from the tip of Dumbledore's wand and began consuming the body of his dead brother. The newly created Inferius screamed in pain and rage before turning and trying to run towards its attacker but only made it a few steps before falling over and moving no more.

Dumbledore's momentary lapse in focus was all Voldemort needed to strike. A flurry of dark spells sped towards Dumbledore who belatedly attempted to avoid and block them, but he was only partially successful. One of the spells that hit Dumbledore caused the skin on his arm to blacken and shrivel up as if dead. The entire left side of his body now felt stiff and weak and even more worrisome than that Dumbledore wasn't sure what spell his foe had cast or how to counter it.

"Not so confident anymore, are you Dumbledore?" Voldemort asked as he approached his opponent. Dumbledore didn't bother responding, but instead animated a nearby tree to pull itself out of the ground and attempt to attack Voldemort. The Dark Lord expected some kind of counter offensize though and easily destroyed the tree before it could do any damage. Dumbledore was not giving up so easily though and sent a powerful blasting curse towards Voldemort's legs. But to his surprise the Dark Lord avoided this by flying into the air and hovering a few feet abover the ground.

"Clever trick, Tom." Dumbledore commented as Voldemort lowered himself to the ground. Meanwhile Dumbledore had attempted to counter the curse that had struck him with mildly positive results. He could now move normally, although with a great deal of pain.

"And I'm growing tired of this... Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort replied. The killing curse raced towards Dumbledore but before it could reach its target crashed into a stone slab that Dumbledore had conjured to intercept it. Voldemort was not surprised by this, tactics like that had never worked against Dumbledore. But the killing curse was really just a distraction, the spell he followed it with was a bludgeoning curse that knocked Dumbledore to the ground. "You've grown weak. And they said I feared you. After today, no one will be foolish enough to claim that."

Dumbledore rolled to his side and began to get up, but while Voldemort was gloating the old professor took the opportunity to wandlessly enneverate Hermione. He didn't know why Voldemort wanted her, but it was always a wise idea to keep things he wanted away from him. Hermione's eyes shot open as she began to realize where she was. She knew the most important thing was that she escaped and kept the secrets she possessed away from Voldemort. The Dark Lord's back was to her so she took the risk of jumping to her feet and running as fast as she could in the other direction. Voldemort immediately sensed what was happening and turned to recapture Hermione. In doing so he left his back open to attack and Dumbledore was able to send a powerful piercing curse at Voldemorts stomach which ripped a hole straight through him, allowing Hermione the time she needed to escape.

Voldemort screamed in pain before turning and yelling "Avada Kedavra!", sending another killing curse towards Dumbledore. Unfortunately for Dumbledore he was not prepared for the quick counter attack and knew he could not avoid the curse. Then, an instant before the spell would have hit him, Dumbledore disappeared in a burst of flames. His phoenix Fawkes had saved his life.

Voldemort immediately realized that the spell Dumbledore had used was not a simply piercing curse. The wound felt all wrong and he could sense the strength rapidly leaving him. He had no choice but to retreat. His only comfort was that his mission had largely been a success. Hogsmeade would never be the same.

"Death Eaters! We're leaving!" Voldmort yelled before apparating away. His troops followed his order and a few seconds later the fighting in Hogsmeade was over. All of the town's buildings had been damaged and half of them were no longer standing. Immediately efforts began to rescue people still trapped in the ruins. The dead and injured alike were taken to Hogwarts and the scale of the losses slowly became clear. Over fifty people had died that day, and of those more than thirty were Hogwarts students. They came from all houses and years including Dean Thomas of Gryffindor, Tracy Davis of Slytherin, Cho Chang of Ravenclaw, and Hannah Abbot of Hufflepuff. One of the most critically injured was Neville Longbottom. As he was taken back to Hogwarts with his friend Hermione at his side no one could say for sure whether he would live or not. Only time would tell.

This was the scene that Harry and Daphne found when they finally made it back a half hour after the battle had ended. With tears of grief and anger flowing from their eyes the two teens rushed back to Hogwarts to be with their friends. Harry immediately realized this was retribution from Voldemort for the destruction of his Horcruxes, and in a small way he felt guilty for that and for not being there to try and stop him. As he and Daphne reentered the castle he swore that he would never let anything like this happen again.


	44. Chapter 44

Harry, with Daphne trailing right behind him, rushed through the doors of Hogwarts and was immediately confronted with a chaotic scene. Half of the Great Hall had been turned into a medical station, and the other half was full of worried students looking for their friends and praying that they were not among the fallen. The staff was attempting to maintain order, but it was nearly impossible. They all wished that Professor Dumbledore would show up to reassure them that everything would be all right, but he had not been seen since his disasterous duel with Lord Voldemort.

"Look! There's Hermione!" Harry said, the relief evident in his voice. He ran towards her and wrapped his friend up in a hug which Hermione gratefully returned. She was crying, as she had been since she made it out of Hogsmeade.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked. "Are you hurt?"

"It's not me, Harry. It's Neville." Hermione sobbed. Daphne had made her way to them after unsuccessfully looking for some of her other friends. Though she still worried about them, she could see that Hermione was clearly in need of support.

"Is he alive?" Daphne asked softly. Hermione nodded yes in between sobs, eliciting sighs of relief from Harry and Daphne.

"V-Voldemort was there. He saw my summon a creature to fight his giants and he wanted to take me." Hermione began to explain. "Neville tried to protect me, but he couldn't. Voldemort hit him with some spell and then stunned me. Dumbledore was able to free me but then he was almost killed by Voldemort. Fawkes saved him."

"Dumbledore lost?" Harry asked, slightly stunned. Hermione just nodded yes at the questions. "So where's Neville?"

"Madame Pomfrey took him. I haven't seen him since." Hermione answered. "Harry, he didn't look good. I'm worried."

"I know, so am I." Harry replied. He looked around the Great Hall and sighed in frustration, wishing there was something he could do to help. "I'm going to Dumbledore's office, I bet that's where Fawkes took him."

"Why?" Daphne asked. "It doesn't sound like he is going to be in any shape to help right now."

"To find out how all this happened." Harry said. "Besides, he might need some help too. Can you two watch out for each other while I'm gone?"

"Go." Hermione answered. "We'll be ok." Harry looked to Daphne who nodded in agreement. He gave Hermione a hug and Daphne a quick kiss before leaving the Great Hall to search for the Headmaster. Harry gave the room one last sad look as he left. But he wasn't aware that someone else was watching him leave.

Draco Malfoy noted Harry's departure and wondered where he had been during the attack on Hogsmeade. It wasn't like his Gryffindor rival to pass up the chance to do something brave and stupid when the opportunity presented itself. Draco shrugged and turned his attention back to his own problems starting with the fact that he had only narrowly avoided being crushed by a falling building earlier in the day. It was pure luck that had saved his life, nothing more. He had been in the Three Broomsticks when the roof collapsed around him, trapping him in a small space just big enough for his body. There, trapped in the darkness, he could hear the screams and cries of his classmates who were not so lucky. Crabbe and Goyle were both injured in the collapse, although not as seriously as many others.

The one thought that he kept coming back to was why was he not warned this was coming? The only logical answer was that his father did not know, but what did that mean? Was his father losing his standing with the Dark Lord? Perhaps, but it did not appear that any of the Death Eaters he knew of had been able to warn their children to avoid Hogsmeade either. That had to mean that the Dark Lord had not told anyone the attack was coming and that he didn't care if it resulted in the deaths of his follower's children. Draco knew for certain that he could not ever follow in his father's footsteps.

But, he wondered, what should he do now? Draco wasn't certain, but he would figure it out eventually. That he was sure of.

While Draco considered his future Harry continued on to find Dumbledore. After a little while walking he stopped in front of the entrance to the Headmaster's office, it was only then that he realized he didn't know the current password required to get past the gargoyle blocking the way. A moment before he started guessing random candies the gargoyle began moving out of the way on its own. Harry walked up the stairs and for the first time began worrying about what he would find. Although he and Dumbledore had fought during the last year he really did not want to see anything bad happen to him. The door to the office, like the gargoyle before, opened as he approached it.

Professor Dumbledore was laying on large couch and barely moving. Fawkes was perched above him singing a comforting song but it did not appear to be helping Dumbledore very much. The phoenix's tears were falling on Dumbledore's blackened arm but it was not healing. That worried Harry more than ever. He knew for a fact that those tears could heal the damage done by basilisk venom, one of the deadliest substances that wizard's knew of, and yet this was worse than even that.

"Professor?" Harry said uncertainly. Dumbledore slightly turned towards him and Harry could see from the expression on his face that it pained him to do. "Can I do something?"

"I don't believe so." Dumbledore said in a whisper. "Fawkes, you can stop as well. I believe Tom anticipated you would attempt to heal me and designed his spell specifically to counter that."

"You'll be ok, won't you?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps." Dumbledore replied with a weak smile. "But I fear my health will not be returning anytime soon. Voldemort will know that I am weakened and I fear that he will take this opportunity to strike again."

"I should have been there today." Harry said regretfully. "Maybe that would have made a difference."

"It is done Harry. You will have your chance to face him again." Dumbledore assured him. "Sit. We have much to discuss."

Harry grabbed one of the chairs and pulled it towards the couch. Dumbledore began to cough violently as Harry sat back down and he wished that there was something he could do to help but unfortunately could not think of anything. Healing had never been his specialty. After a few minutes the cough died down and Dumbledore was able to continue speaking.

"The world will need a new leader against Voldemort. After today, it can not be me." Dumbledore began. "Physically I am in no condition to lead anyone into battle, but more importantly one reason the wizarding world looked to me to lead them was because they believed I was the one wizard Voldemort feared. That is obviously no longer true. Without a leader the masses will panic, allowing Voldemort's power to grow. We must not allow that to happen. You, Harry, must take my place. You must become a symbol of hope for them."

"Do you really think they'll follow me over you?" Harry asked skeptically. His first reaction was a powerful dislike of the idea. He saw himself as a soldier in the war, not an officer in charge of others. Even so he understood Dumbledore's point of view.

"Release the contents of the prophecy if you have to." Dumbledore told him. "Give them the chance to realize what I already know: you are the chosen one. You will defeat Voldemort once and for all." Harry said nothing for a moment, contemplating Dumbledore's advice and what he planned on doing with it. He suddenly rose from his chair and began to pace back and forth around the office. Reasons for why he shouldn't accept the responsibility raced through his head. It was ridiculous for Dumbledore to think it would work, he told himself. A mere Hogwarts student leading the fight against the most powerful dark wizard the world had ever known? Preposterous!

Harry turned back to Dumbledore to give him the bad news, but when he did he found that Dumbledore was smiling at him and the twinkle in his eye had returned. In that moment he remembered that he would not be alone in this task. His friends would always be there for him. Plus he had some good allies. With a great sigh Harry sat back down and looked reluctantly at Professor Dumbledore.

"Ok. I'll do it." Harry said finally. "I just hope this works."

"It will." Dumbledore assured him. "The sooner you begin the better. If I'm not mistaken there is a room full of frightened students and teachers that need to hear some encouraging words downstairs. You are a natural leader Harry. Follow your instincts, they will not mislead you."

"I'll send someone up here to help you. I assume you'd like that to be Snape?" Harry said as he stood up. Dumbledore nodded affirmatively at Harry's guess. "Wish me luck."

"Wait. There's one more thing I need to do." Dumbledore said. Harry turned back towards him to find Dumbledore offering him his wand. Harry looked at him with a look of great confusion on his face. "This is a powerful wand, Harry, but its powers are only truly available to its master. I became its master after defeating Grindelwald so many years ago, but after today it has a new one."

"Voldemort."

"Exactly." Dumbledore replied. "One day you will defeat him, and on that day this wand will belong to you. Guard it carefully. Harry. Hide its existence if you can. Once you gain control of it this wand will serve you well. You will accomplish great things with it one day, of that I am quite sure."

"Thank you." Harry answered gratefully as he took the wand. "I promise to take care of it."

"I know you will." Dumbledore said with a smile. "Good luck, Harry."

With that the old professor laid back on the couch and appeared to fall asleep. Fawkes began crying on her owner once again, aware that it wasn't doing much good but still determined to do something. Harry left the office and slowly descended the stairs, all the while fretting about what he was about to do and what it would mean. At the bottom of the staircase he stopped completely and sat on the floor, hoping that a little more time would help him getter a better hold on what was happening. He knew that in the Great Hall there were hundreds of people looking for someone to tell them everything was going to be ok, but the reality was that nothing would be the same after today. How was he supposed to deal with that?

After several minutes no answers seemed to be coming, so Harry got up and decided to just hope for the best. As Harry neared the Great Hall he could hear the sound of people talking and crying, just as they had been doing when he left. No one seemed to notice his return, giving him the chance to take a good look at the scene in front of him. The most unusual thing he saw was that the barriers between the houses had largely broken down. All anybody cared about was mourning their fallen friends and making sure the others were ok. Even Slytherin, who might normally be shunned, was included in this because they had lost just as many people as the other houses.

Gathering his courage, Harry began walking towards the stage at the front of the room where the teacher's table was. He could hear people begin to question what he was doing as he took his place in front of them. Professor McGonagall was as confused as the rest and approached him to find out what was going on.

"Mr Potter, can I help you?" Professor McGonagall asked kindly.

"No ma'am. I have something to say." Harry explained. "I've seen Professor Dumbledore, he approved of this."

"Very well then." Professor McGonagall said finally. With that she turned and went back to what she was doing. By that point almost all of the students in the Great Hall had turned to watch him and were eagerly waiting to see what he was going to do.

"Sonorus." Harry whispered with his wand pointed at his throat. "I've just spoken to Professor Dumbledore. He's in his office recovering. He should be fine... eventually." Harry began. He hadn't figured out what he wanted to say beforehand and they weren't coming to him now.

"Where were you?" someone yelled, though Harry could not tell who. Rumors about his magical power had been spreading throughout the castle ever since the end of the TriWizard Tournament. Although few of them knew the truth about him, many were certain that their classmate would one day lead the fight against Voldemort.

"I wasn't there." Harry said sadly. "I had already left by the time the attack started. I didn't know anything was wrong until I got back. I wish I was there, that I could have done something. We've all lost friends today and I am as upset as you are. But this isn't over. Voldemort-"

A chorus of screams rang out at the mention of the name. Harry waited a moment for it to quiet down before continuing.

"Voldemort!" Harry shouted. "It's just a name! Letting yourself be terrified of it only gives him more power! He will attack again. You and your friends and your families will be in danger as long as he is alive. I'm not trying to scare you, but you have to realize what is going on. No one is safe anymore."

"And what are we supposed to do?" a different voice called out. The rest of the crowd seemed to be wondering the same thing.

"Learn." Harry answered simply. "You must become capable of protecting yourselves and those you care about. If all those who opposed him were brave enough to stand up against Voldemort he would have no chance of defeating us. You don't have to be worried about not being more powerful than he is, because ultimately dealing with him is my responsibility."

Harry's admission caused an immediate uproar and he found it difficult to tell what was being shouted at him. He did see Daphne walking towards him with a shocked look on her face. She of course knew the prophecy but had no warning he planned on making it public.

"Before I was born a prophecy was made." Harry explained to the stunned group in front of him. "It said that either I will kill Voldemort or he will kill me. That is why he killed my parents and tried to kill me. But I lived, just like I've done every time he's faced me. The forces of good will need all of your help. I will need you help. I can not win this war alone. Our only chance is if we all stand together and face our common enemy. After tonight there can be no doubt that Voldemort does not care about anyone, not even the families of those who follow him. Together we will make it through this. Thank you."

Harry cancelled the Sonorus charm and walked off the stage where Daphne was waiting for him. She instantly pulled him into a hug and began dragging him off to somewhere they could discuss what he had just done privately. Harry worried that she would be upset with him, but when they began talking he saw that she was more concerned for him than anything else. The fact that she was standing by him, like he expected her and all his friends to do, was greatly comforting. After Harry explained what had happened in his chat with Dumbledore Daphne began explaining to him how bad the attack had been. Nobody knew for sure how many had died in Hogsmeade, but the final count was expected to be over two dozen people. Included in that number was one of her oldest friends, Tracy Davis. The thought made Daphne break down into tears while Harry attempted to comfort her. The two girls had drifted apart a bit over the last year, but were still close.

Eventually they decided to return to the Great Hall and rejoin the others, but on their way they ran into Hermione who was sprinting through the hallway.

"Hermione, what's going on!" Harry yelled out to her. Hermione reluctantly slowed down to talk to her friends, though it was obvious to Harry and Daphne she wanted to leave.

"They've moved Neville to the infirmary." Hermione explained. "Madame Pomfrey says that he is stable and she expects him to make it but that he will most likely never fully recover."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked.

"She wouldn't say." Hermione sobbed. "I'm going to see him now."

"We'll come with you." Daphne said, eliciting a thankful nod from Hermione, Together they headed towards the infirmary which they found to be bustling with activity. The patients brought here were suffering from a variety of injuries but none were as serious as those sent to St Mungo's. Others, like Neville, had little more that could be done for him except to wait and see how they responded to treatment.

"There." Harry said softly as he pointed to a bed in the far corner of the room. Neville was covered in bandages and completely unresponsive, but they hopes he was aware of their presence.

"They put him into a magically induced coma." Hermione commented as she sat down on stool next to the bed. "It's so he doesn't move around and reopen the wounds."

"I'm sure the healers know what they're doing, Hermione." Daphne said. "If they say he is going to make it, he will."

"I know." Hermione nodded. "You'd think after being friends with Harry for five years I'd be used to seeing my friends in here..."

"Hey, I'm not that bad am I?" Harry said with a small laugh. It was easy to see that Hermione was trying to cheer them, and herself up a little. "Well, actually you might have a point."

"We'll stay until they kick us out." Daphne said. "Neville would do the same for any of us."

The others nodded in agreement. It was an hour later until a medi-witch finally came around and forced them to leave the room. They, like many others that night, would go to bed still worried about their friends and still searching for answers on what to do next.

* * *

Deep within Hogwarts dungeons Professor Severus Snape was busy watching over a dozen different cauldrons, all containing a different potion desperately needed in the infirmary. The sheer number of hurt students had resulted in Hogwart's large supply of healing potions being completely used up in record time. The task was difficult, but Severus Snape was confident in his skills as a potions master and was able to keep everything going exactly as it should be.

A sharp pain struck him just as he was adding another batch of lacewing flies to a large cauldron full of green boiling liquid. He sighed in annoyance, knowing exactly what the pain in his arm meant. The dark lord was calling for him, and he could not say no. With an elaborate flick of his wand and a silent incantation the cauldrons were placed in protective state that would let him resume his brewing at a later time as if the delay had not happened at all. The spell was one he created during his seventh year at Hogwarts and was one of his proudest creations and most closely guarded secrets. Luckily for him neither Dumbledore nor Voldemort considered this odd, potions masters were notoriously sensitive about sharing their methods.

Snape quietly made his way out of the dungeon and towards the nearest exit. Curfew had long passed, meaning he happily did not have to deal with throngs of students wondering where he was going. In all honesty Snape had lost interest in being a teacher and would much rather just focus on his research, but his position as a double agent in the war prevented him from making any changes. Just another regret in a life full of them, he thought glumly.

Several minutes later Snape finally made it to the edge of the wards and apparated away with a small pop. He arrived deep within the dark lord's hideout as he had done countless times before and began making his way towards Voldemort's chamber. Voldemort was alone, sitting on a throne-like chair with a pained expression on his face.

"You're late, Severus." Voldemort said angrily.

"My apologies, my lord." Snape replied with a bow. He knew full well that he had come as quickly as he could, but it was not wise to argue with the dark lord. "How can I be of service?"

"I have been unable to heal the wound left by Dumbledore's spell." Voldemort said, pulling back his robes a little to expose a wound that was still bleeding. "Did he tell you what he attacked me with?"

"He did not." Snape answered honestly. "Perhaps I will be able to recognize it from the effect, if you would permit."

"Proceed." Voldemort said in an annoyed tone. Snape approached and took a closer look at the wound. He knew it could not be the result of a dark spell since it had been cast by Dumbledore and that helped narrow down the possibilities considerably. After a few minutes Snape felt confident he had determined the cause, and the cure.

"I believe the only way to seal the wound is to cauterize it. This, however, will not work if done magically." Snape said finally. He knew the dark lord would not be happy with his discovery, but it was still his best advice. "Would you like my assistance?"

"That will not be necessary." Voldemort replied. He would never do something that made him look weak if he had any other options. "Tell me of Dumbledore's condition."

"Neither he nor I recognized the spell you used against him, or how to reverse its effects." Snape began. Voldemort meanwhile had conjured a piece of flat metal with a wooden handle and was busy heating it up with conjured flames. "He remains weak and bed-ridden. He estimates it will be weeks, perhaps longer, before he regains full strength."

"Good." Voldemort said. though his focus was not on Snape but on the hot metal he had just placed on his wound. The smell of burnt flesh began filling the air but Voldemort made no sound to indicate his discomfort. After a few more seconds Voldemort removed the object to see that Snape's solution had indeed worked. "How have the students reacted?"

"Fear. Sadness. Anger." Snape replied. To tell the truth he had a hard time understanding how teenaged minds worked, but he knew that statement was at least true.

"Without Dumbledore things will soon descend into chaos. Excellent."

"Dumbledore believed the same thing and has done something... unusual to prevent it." Snape said, not sure how the dark lord would react to his news. "Under his orders, Harry Potter has taken the role as leader of the opposition. Potter's first act was to reveal the existence and contents of the prophecy to his classmates in an effort to get them to rall behind him."

"Interesting." Voldemort replied. "Foolish, but interesting. It will never work of course. Dumbledore was once a great wizard, powerful enough to defeat Grindelwald. Potter is but a child that will soon be crushed under my heel. Dumbledore has, in effect, forfeited the war to me. Excellent."

"As you say, master." Snape agreed, but internally he doubted Voldemort's criticism. He disliked Potter but could clearly see the young man's leadership potential and popularity with the wizarding public. Voldemort was once again underestimating his opponent, a fact Snape decided not to point out.

"Well, if Potter wants to be a leader then let him." Voldemort sneered. "In fact, I think I should do something to congratulate him on his promotion. That will be all Severus. Send Lucius to me before you return to Hogwarts."

"Yes, lord." Snape answered with a small bow before leaving the room. Once far enough away that Voldemort could no longer see or hear him Snape let out a sigh of relief that he had made it through the meeting without being subjected to the Cruciatus curse. There were very few places in the base where Death Eaters could relax and most of them were only accessible to the inner circle. Snape suspected that is where he would find Lucius Malfoy. That suspicion was confirmed when he spotted a nervous looking Malfoy pacing back and forth across the room.

"Severus!" Malfoy said with a sound of relief. "I haven't been able to leave here since we got back. Tell me, is Draco alive?"

"Yes, Lucius. Draco is fine." Snape assured him. "Completely uninjured, though his friends Crabbe and Goyle were not so lucky."

"Thank you, my friend." Malfoy replied. "You'll keep looking out for him, won't you?"

"Of course." Snape said as if it was a silly question. "The Dark Lord requires your presence. I would not make him wait too long if I were you."

"He's not angry is he?" Malfoy asked nervously.

"No more than is normal." Snape answered with a shrug. Malfoy nodded and left the way Snape had come from. Malfoy's sudden interest in the well being of his only son struck Snape as very out of the ordinary. Typically the man only worried that Draco was not doing anything to disgrace the family name, but it had been a strange and stressful day for all involved. Finally Snape remembered the work waiting for him back at Hogwarts and chided himself for not moving faster. Within a few minutes he was back inside the dungeon hard at work and focused on doing his part to heal the injured students.

* * *

The next day's issue of the Daily Prophet was dedicated to reporting what had happened in Hogsmeade the previous day. Its pages were full of pictures detailing the devestation and first hand reports from those that had survived it. The wizarding public was outraged as never before. Families that had previously tried to remain neutral were now realizing that neutrality was impossible. Voldemort's victory was having consequences he never intended it to have.

One such consequence was a sudden surge in interest in young wizards wanting to join the auror corps. For the first time in years the ministry had an eager pool of applicants and the funding to accept them all. It was now becoming next to impossible for any of Voldemort's supporters to successfully argue that the wizarding world would be better off with their master in control. But even so Voldemort did not immediately grasp the magnitude of his mistake. That would only come much later when there was very little he could do to fix it.

* * *

Author's Note:

No, this story has not been forgotten. Part of it was getting this chapter to a point that I was happy with it. For some reason this one was more difficult than others. This story will be completed, it's come way too far for me to abandon it with only a few chapters left to go.

Thanks again to all of you who have continued to read.


	45. Chapter 45

Gibbon and Jugson had never been considered Lord Voldemort's best Death Eaters, but with the recent deaths of so many of his top troops they were now being given the chance to prove themselves. If they succeeded then they would finally be counted as part of the inner circle and not just merely expendable foot soldiers. And make no mistake, this mission was very important.

The Dark Lord wished to continue hammering the opposition while they were weak and still reeling from what was being called the "Hogsmeade Massacre". Tonight's target was key to the Ministry of Magic's attempts to remain in power and was extremely well protected. Because of that it had taken weeks of preparations to put the necessary pieces into place but finally the attack was ready.

"What time is it?" Gibbon asked his partner. Gibbon was a large man whose intelligence and physical strength mostly made up for his relatively weak magical power in comparison with the other high ranking Death Eaters. Voldemort had tasked him to come up with a plan to eliminate the threat and Gibbon had performed admirably enough to be allowed to lead the team that attempted to implement the plan.

"Five minutes till midnight." Jugson replied eagerly. "Almost time." Jugson was tall, thin, and quite powerful. He would have risen faster through the ranks of Death Eaters if he had only been able to follow orders a little better. As it was Voldemort frequently punished Jugson with the Cruciatus curse for failing to do as he was told. This had not had a positive effect on the man's already loose grasp on sanity.

"Make sure the others are ready." Gibbon ordered. Jugson said nothing response but simply twirled his wand in his hand and stared at the house that was their target. "Now, Jugson!" That finally got the other man moving, much to Gibbon's relief. They had a group of ten younger Death Eaters also ready to prove their worth with them, more than enough in Gibbon's mind to be successful.

"Do you really think this will work, Gibbon?" someone asked from behind him. Gibbon turned quickly to face the man with his wand out and was annoyed to see Gabriel Greengrass, a true member of the inner circle, looking back at him.

"What are you here for?" Gibbon asked, clearly annoyed with the other man's presence. "I didn't ask for any additional help."

"I am simply here to observe." Gabriel replied. "The Dark Lord would most displeased if this attack failed."

"I know, and it won't." Gibbon said.

"Tell me again what your plan is?" Gabriel asked, though Gibbon could tell it was more of a command than a question.

"We have a man inside the floo department at the Ministry of Magic. At midnight he will be turning off the floo connection to the house and sabotaging the equipment that allows the Ministry to repair broken connections or establish new ones." Gibbon explained. "That will, unfortunately, blow his cover within the ministry. However he has already placed his likely replacement under the Imperious Curse and so we do not expect to lose any influence. Two of my men will remain outside casting anti-portkey and anti-apparition spells over the house, effectively trapping everyone inside the house."

"And how do you expect to overcome the guards?" Gabriel asked.

"Another one of our contacts within the Ministry tells us that half of the Aurors assigned to guard the target have been reassigned to the Hogsmeade relief effort." Gibbon replied. "That leaves ten of us versus four of them, a manageable fight wouldn't you say?"

"I suppose." Greengrass agreed with a shrug.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do." Gibbon said. With that he stood and walked over to where the rest of his team was waiting. Jugson had, thankfully, done as told and gathered them together in preparation for the attack. "Strike team, as we discussed earlier four of you will be with me and four will be with Jugson. You two remain here and make sure no one but us gets out of here. Now get it place, we move on my signal."

The groups separated as ordered. Gibbon was happy with his team, satisfied that he had been able to gather up a better group than Jugson had been. Jugson, meanwhile, was eagerly looking toward Gibbon and waiting for the signal. With one last look to make sure everything was ready, Gibbon waved his hand forward and began leading his group to the door.

"Damn it, Jugson!" Gibbon said as he watched his partner's group sprint ahead of his, completely ignoring the plan they had agreed on previously. There was nothing he could do about however except for rush behind and make sure they accomplished all of their goals. The moment before they stepped onto the property they felt a defensive shield go up around the house and their own anti-portkey and anti-apparition wards go into place. "Tear through the shield! Reducto!"

Ten flashes of red light flew through the dark night sky and impacted with loud bangs against a powerful shield protecting the house. There could be no doubt now that the people inside knew something very bad was happening outside. The Death Eaters continued assaulting the wards which proved to be tougher than they had expected. Even so after five minutes of heavy attacks the ward began to fall and finally exploded in a shower of colorful sparks.

"Break down the door!" Jugson yelled, leading his men forward once again. An instant later the door was broken into pieces from the force of half a dozen spells. The guards inside were waiting for them, however, and as soon as the door was out of the way a pair of Reducto curses flew through the door at the Death Eaters. One missed completely, but the other clipped one of Jugson's men in the shoulder and sent him spinning to the ground writhing in pain.

"Push through!" Gibbon commanded as he led the Death Eaters inside, all firing killing curses. The Death Eaters did not wait to see if their curses, struck the simply rushed into the house and continued the fight. When Gibbon made it inside he saw that there had only been two guards in the entrance way and that they had survived the first volley of spells, but they would not last long against so many enemies.

"Check upstairs!" Gibbon yelled to Jugson. "Careful, Scrimgeour has two guards with him!" Gibbon didn't have to add that the Head of the Auror Department was a skilled fighter in his own right either. This mission had always been risky, but the reward was well worth it. Without Scrimgeour there would be no one in charge of the Aurors and no clear consensus on who should replace him. It was even possible that one of their own people within the Ministry could take his spot.

Jugson and his men climbed the stairs into the second floor of the room while his own men searched the first floor. The sounds of fighting from upstairs let him know that the other guards had indeed been found. That fight ended shortly thereafter and then there was silence. Gibbon was about to go check on them when Jugson ran down the stairs.

"He's not up here!" Jugson said angrily.

"We haven't found him either." Gibbon replied. "Wait, I think I know where he is!" Gibbon rushed outside to get a better look at the house. He saw nothing out of the ordinary on the front so he ran around to check the back. It was there that he saw Rufus Scrimgeour climbing down from the second floor in an attempt to escape.

"Crucio!" Gibbon yelled happily. The spell hit Scrimgeour in the back and he screamed in pain before losing his grip and falling to the ground with a sickening thud. Gibbon walked over to the once powerful man moaning in pain. It was amusing how weak he looked now.

"Go ahead you pathetic excuse for a wizard." Scrimgeour spat at him. "Tell your master I'll see him in hell."

"You first." Gibbon replied. "Avada Kedavra!" In a flash the Head of the Aurors was dead and the last major obstacle between him and the inner circle of Death Eaters was cleared. With one last triumphant cry Gibbon raised his wand above his head and placed the Dark Mark over the home. The Death Eaters had won another battle.

* * *

Harry looked around the infirmary and smiled. It seemed like half of Gryffindor had shown up for this, though he couldn't blame them. They all needed some good news these days and this was as good as any. The funerals had begun the day before and it seemed like they would never end. So many had died it made them take special notice of any and all happy events.

"Quiet everyone!" Madame Pomfrey demanded. "I am sure Mr Longbottom would not appreciate his first waking moments to be reacting in shock to you yelling at him." She turned back to her work with a smile on her face. He patient had made remarkable progress and she expected him to have very few lasting problems from the injury.

Certainly he would walk with a limp for the rest of his life and his hearing may never be what it once was but it was not nearly as bad as it could have been. He came very close to losing the leg completely. Finally satisfied that all her work was complete, Madame Pomfrey walked over to Neville's bed and cast the spell to end the magical coma.

"Is he ok?" Hermione asked eagerly from the chair beside Neville's bed.

"I still need to wake him, dear." Madame Pomfrey replied. "But yes, he will be fine." She began casting the spells to wake him and return some of his energy to him. They took effect almost immediately and only moments later his eyes were blinking open.

"What happened?" Neville asked wearily, drawing a round of applause from the gathered crowd that startled him just like Madame Pomfrey had predicted. But after he had gotten over the initial shock Neville smiled happily at his friends and housemates. "Hi." he said simply with a small wave.

"We were worried about you." Harry said.

"We all were." Daphne agreed.

"I think I'm ok." Neville replied. "Do I have to stay here?"

"For another day." Madame Pomfrey told him. "But after that you should be almost back to normal. Now try not to let this get together get out of hand, I'll be back in a little bit."

With that Madame Pomfrey left, but not before noticing the mischievous looks on the faces of the Weasley twins and knowing she was probably making a mistake by leaving.

Neville nodded and turned back to his friends. Before he could say anything Fred Weasley was rolling out a keg of butterbeer that seemed to have come from no where while his brother George was pulling bottles of fire whiskey out of his robes one after another.

"It wouldn't be an actual party without drinks would it?" Fred asked.

"You deserve it, Neville." George added. "And everyone just remember, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes has all your party needs!"

"Well if it's going to be a party. Dobby!" Harry said. Immediately the house elf appeared. "Could you possibly bring us some food?"

"Yes, master Harry!" Dobby said enthusiastically before popping away. A few minutes later he began returning with plates full of food, much to the enjoyment of the student celebrating Neville's recovery. Everything seemed to be going well and Harry thought it was the happiest he had seen them since the Hogsmeade attacks. He wished these happy moments would last a little longer but unfortunately he knew the world would not let that happen.

"What's bothering you?" Daphne asked him. She had noticed the troubled look on his face.

"I just wish we had something happier to be celebrating than a friend surviving an attack by Voldemort." Harry sighed. "How am I supposed to lead people, Daphne? I wouldn't even follow me."

"That's because you haven't been paying attention to how things have changed." Daphne replied. "People aren't just afraid anymore, they're angry too. Father says that the attacks caused many of the families to rethink their attitudes towards Voldemort. They are abandoning him because it is pretty obvious that not even his allies are safe from his wrath. Sure he's still strong, but he's lost his army."

"Not all of it." Harry disagreed. "There are still Death Eaters loyal to him, and the ones that have stayed are the worst of the bunch. We may be closer to winning than ever before but he is still capable of doing a lot of damage before he goes."

"You'll stop him, Harry. I know it." Daphne assured him. "You've been training harder than ever this year. When you get your chance you'll make the most of it."

"I'm glad you're so confident." Harry replied with a smile. "Someone needs to be."

"Just look around you Harry." Daphne said. "It's who we're fighting for."

Harry looked and could not help but smile at the scene in front of him. Lee Jordan and Seamus Finnegan were standing next to Neville's bed discussing something that had made them all laugh, though Hermione who had not left Neville's side appeared as if she did not approve of what was being said. Across the room Fred and George had somehow gotten their sister Ginny to eat a Canary Cream and were now desperately trying to avoid Bat Bogey Hexes from an oversized bird. Elsewhere Lavender Brown had cornered Ron Weasley and appeared to be shamelessly flirting with him even though Ron did not look like he had any idea how to respond to it. All the while the Creevey brothers were busy taking pictures of everything going on.

"I do love Hogwarts." Harry commented with a smile.

"Come on." Daphne replied happily. "We should be mingling."

* * *

It had been many years since Voldemort last found himself in the role of a researcher, and yet through a strange turn of events that was exactly what he was back to. As a Hogwarts student he had quickly risen to the top of his class, soaking up all the information he could like a sponge. Many of the years before his rise to power were spent gaining knowledge of powerful and obscure magic that he would eventually turn against his enemies. Pure strength, which he also had a seemingly endless supply of, were not enough to ensure his place as the most powerful wizard in history. He also had to be able to outsmart his opponents.

And yet, somehow, a mere child had gained knowledge of magic he did not possess. He would not have believed it had he not seen it with his own eyes, but he did and could not deny its truth. That little girl had summoned and controlled beasts not of this world with ease in a move that nearly turned the tide of the battle against him. He would not let this humiliation goes unchallenged. And so the day after the battle he was back in his own private library, searching for a possible explanation on how such powers might be obtained. Unfortunately he had read all of these books before and knew the answer did not lay within them. On his orders the Death Eaters had begun bringing in their most rare and treasured books, something he had never asked them to do before. The old families guarded their private libraries fiercely, especially when they knew that the books they owned were rare or one of a kind. Despite that none of them dared disobey Lord Voldemort's demands.

Already he had seen many topics that interested him and vowed to return to at a later date, but his focus was on the power he had so recently seen wielded. He knew that summoning creatures from other worlds had been attempted before and almost always ended up failing is disasterous fashion. Those few that had been successful were almost instantly murdered by the beasts they had unleashed, and yet he now knew success was possible. He had never attempted such a thing before, believing it not to be worth the risk, but now...

Voldemort closed his book and began to consider his situation. His army was not coming together as he had hoped. First that fool Greyback got himself killed and started a civil war between the werewolf clans. They were now too busy killing each other to be of any use to him. Then his Dementors had either died or fled in the face of a new type Patronus charm that could actually kill them. The giants he had so painstakingly imported had been killed one by one over the past few months until now he had very few remaining. He had gone against his own better judgment and tried to form an alliance with the vampires, but even that had not worked out how he hoped. The greatest failure of all had been the deaths among his inner circle of Death Eaters. So many loyal witches and wizards had fallen in the past few months and their replacements were unfortunately nowhere nearly as talented. His power alone was the only thing preventing the total collapse of all he had built and worked for.

This new power, however, had the potential to turn the tide in his favor forever. With an army of hellbeasts at his command he would have no need for dementors or werewolves or giants or vampires. They would be replaced by monsters more terrifying than anything that appeared in even their worst nightmares. The Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix would quickly fall to this new assault and leave the wizarding world in pieces, just waiting for him to come and put it back together. And rule over, of course. Yes, this was the best course of action.

Hours passed and Voldemort had not moved except to switch books, but none so far held the information he desired. The hours turned into days and not once did Voldemort leave his private study. The inner circle of Death Eaters knew where their Lord was but could only guess at the reasoning behind his new obsession. The other Death Eaters were just pleased that the Dark Lord did not have the time to punish them as he often did. But without any new directions the Death Eaters had no idea what Voldemort wanted them to do and so they did nothing. It was a welcome break for the rest of the wizarding world.

A week after he had begun searching Voldemort finally found what he was looking for. It lay in journal of a dark wizard known as Canweard the Wise who had lived sometime in the 700's AD. Voldemort immediately recognized the importance of the journal because it had been one of Canweard's apprentices that had trained his great ancestor Salazar Slytherin. In his day Canweard was feared throughout the land not for things he had done, but for what everyone knew he was capable of doing. Their fears, however, were misplaced because Canweard was much more interested in exploring the dark arts than using them against others to gain power. The dark wizard's journal said that he had at some point come into posession of a vast magical library that had originally been written by a Babylonian wizard. Something in this library had begun his interest in what other unseen worlds may exist and how one would create a path between them. It became an obsession that he worked on for decades until finally he was convinced he had found the key.

An elaborate ritual was necessary and it would only work at certain times of the year and in a location that contained a huge amount of magical power. Canweard chose Stonehenge on the summer solstice. Not much was written about the ritual itself other than that it had failed and in the process destroyed the magic surrounding Stonehenge and very nearly killed Canweard. The dark wizard however was convinced that the flaw lay not with his plans but with his own power and that of the location he had chosen. He never again attempted the ritual but maintained until the end that it could work.

Voldemort did not doubt his own power. He could succeed where others had failed. It would take some time to gather the necessary materials if he wished to try the ritual on the winter solstice which was only two months away, but he was confident he could be ready by then. The only question remaining was where to attempt it? The location would have to contain immense magical power... Voldemort almost laughed when the obvious answer to his question came to him: Hogwarts. Even if his plan failed like it did for Canweard and Hogwarts was destroyed he would still emerge the victor.

'Yes,' Voldemort thought 'This is what I have been waiting for. I will rule this world or see it destroyed.' His victorious laugh could be heared throughout his hide out and sent a cold chill through all that heard it.

* * *

Author's Note:

And now we get to the other reason I introduced Hermione's ritual, I know some of you wondered at the time but I didn't want to give everything away. Thanks again to all of you who have stuck with the story for this long, it is greatly appreciated.

People have asked if I have written or will write anything else. I currently have another story started but not posted which will be much shorter than this one. I would describe it as a Harry Potter story than fans of Ken Grimwood will immediately recognize and hopefully enjoy. And that's all I'll say about it until at least after this story is finished. Thanks again!


	46. Chapter 46

"You should be stirring counter clockwise Ms Patil!" Professor Snape warned from the front of the class. Parvati, who had been chatting with her friend Lavender Brown, looked embarassed for having been publicly corrected and began following the directions more closely. The rest of the Gryffindor potions class was simply happy that Professor Snape had not chosen to criticize their work. As usual the Gryffindors had Potions with the Slytherins who almost never received any of Professor Snape's wrath. In years prior Crabbe and Goyle had been the exception to that rule, but no longer. When they now made mistakes, which was quite often, Professor Snape simply sighed in annoyance and corrected them. Few of the Gryffindor's could understand this change, but those who recognized that their professor was a human being who actually did care for others clearly saw that he had been attempting to protect and guide them after the deaths of their fathers.

The class fell silent again as the students focused on completing their assigned potion. It was significantly more difficult than anything they had been assigned before but would be on their OWLs was therefore important for them to learn. Many of them were having problems with it, but that number did not include Neville who had finally returned to his classes. The extra effort he had put in with Harry the year before had paid off and he was now a competent potion maker, even Professor Snape rarely had cause to criticize him.

"Time is up. Turn in your potions and leave." Professor Snape commanded at the end of the class. "Ms Granger, remain here after class."

Hermione's head shot up and a worried look crossed her face. Snape only kept people after class if they were in trouble or if they had made some huge mistake in class. She did not think she had done either. Hermione looked over to Harry who was sitting next to her, hoping he had some idea what Professor Snape wanted, but he merely shrugged back at her. He had been in trouble in Potions lots of times before and knew there was nothing that could be done about it. Hermione nervously sat at her desk as the students around her bottled up their potions and exited the classroom.

"Good luck." Harry whispered as he passed Hermione, which did not really help her nervousness. Finally the only two people left in the classroom were her and Professor Snape. Hermione walked up to his desk, placed her potion down, and waited for him to say something. Snape, however, paid her no attention and went about packing his things up and clearing his desk.

"Professor?" Hermione finally said, "You wanted to see me? If it's about today's potion I think you'll see that I did it exactly how the instructions told us to."

"Of that I have no doubt, Ms Granger." Professor Snape replied. "Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak with you. Follow me."

Professor Snape did not wait for her to respond, he simply walked out of the classroom. Hermione raced to get out of the room before he closed and locked the door. She was shocked to hear that Professor Dumbledore wanted to talk to her. He had never asked to do so in the past and even more importantly no one had seen him out of his chambers in the last two weeks. Rumors were beginning to spread about how serious his injuries were, and despite their teacher's assurances that he would be fine many believed that the Headmaster was close to dying. Snape quickly made his way through the hallways packed with students with Hermione following close behind him. Finally they reached the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Chocolate frogs." Professor Snape said quietly. The gargoyle blocking the entrance slowly moved to the side and allowed them to pass through. At the top of the staircase Snape opened the door and motioned for Hermione to go inside. Once she had Snape followed her inside and closed the door with a loud thud that made Hermione jump in surprise. Hermione's eyes were drawn to Professor Dumbledore who was calmly sitting at his desk smiling back at her. His arm was still black and disturbing to look at, but Dumbledore made no sign that would indicate it was bothering him.

"Please, come in. Sit." Dumbledore said warmly. Hermione nodded and did as asked while Snape sat down in the other chair across the desk from Dumbledore. "Lemon drop?"

"No thank you sir. I don't particularly like that kind of sweets. We never really had them in my house growing up. My parents are dentists." Hermione rambled. Dumbledore's smile just grew and his eyes twinkled at Hermione's explanation. "Oh! Dentists are a type of muggle doctor. They work with teeth. But I'm sure you knew that..."

"Splendid! I've always found muggle approaches to common problems to be fascinating. Wouldn't you agree, Severus?" Dumbledore asked. Snape merely snorted in reply, showing how little interest he had in the subject. "Now, I would like to talk to you about the Hogsmeade attack, if that wouldn't be too traumatic for you."

"No sir." Hermione replied nervously, "That will be fine."

"It must have been very frightening for you." Dumbledore stated.

"Yes, but Neville was with me." Hermione said. "I didn't know he had it in him to be so brave."

"Mr Longbottom certainly does deserve to be commended for his efforts. He has shown himself to be a true Gryffindor." Dumbledore agreed. "I was hoping you might be able to enlighten us as to what brought you to Voldemort's attention in the first place. Kidnapping random school children has never really been a part of his modus operandi."

"Perhaps he knew that I was a friend of Harry's." Hermione suggested, reluctant to admit the true reason's behind Voldemort's interest in her.

"Perhaps." Dumbledore agreed with a nod. "Tell me, Ms Granger, were you aware that many witnesses that day described a enormous creature fighting and defeating giants? No one was sure what they were seeing, but they all agreed that it was even larger than a giant."

"Yes sir." Hermione answered. "I remember seeing that, too."

"I thought you might." Dumbledore replied. "I suspect that Voldemort wanted to kidnap you because he was convinced that you were somehow responsible for that creature's presence. After considering it, I would have to agree with his conclusion."

Hermione gasped in surprise and tried to think of a response, but none came. In the end she realized that she had been caught and lowered her head just hoping that she would not be in too much trouble. She worried that Professor Dumbledore might even kick her out of school.

"I assure you that you are not in trouble." Dumbledore said, sensing her worried state of mind. "We need you to explain what you've done because now you have drawn Voldemort's interest and trust me that is not something you want to be the focus of. In Hogsmeade Voldemort was confronted with a power he did not have, and now he lusts after it. He must not be allowed to gain any further advantage or more people will suffer before this war finally ends."

"I just wanted to help." Hermione answered softly. "I didn't tell Harry what I was doing and he was furious when he found out. It all started when I found this book in the Room of Requirement."

"You found the Room of Requirement? Wonderful!" Dumbledore exclaimed. Hermione had not realized that not even Dumbledore knew how to access the Room of Requirement.

"We found it last year. Dobby showed us where it was." Hermione explained. "One day I was there thinking about how I wanted some way to help Harry and all of the sudden this book appeared. I started looking through it and saw that whoever wrote it had been researching the Ritual of Heron, but he had never completely figured it out. I knew it was wrong, but I was curious to see if I could solve the puzzle so I started working on it."

"Do you expect us to believe a mere child conquered the Ritual of Heron?" Snape scoffed. "Inconceivable."

"I never would have been able to with out Slytherin's book and a knowledge of muggle chemistry." Hermione replied. "But I did it."

"Slytherin's book?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh, yeah I guess I almost forgot that part." Hermione replied, hoping this wouldn't make her look even more guilty. "The author never gave his name, but it was marked with the Slytherin family crest. I assumed it must have belonged to Salazar Slytherin at some point. Even after I understood how to complete the ritual I still didn't know what it was supposed to do, and so I decided not to try it. But then Voldemort came back and Harry told us about how he had died, I felt like I had to do something. So I went through with it."

"And what exactly did the ritual do?" Dumbledore asked. By this point both he and Professor Snape were fascinated with the story and eager to learn more.

"It opened a portal to another world, or more precisely an alternate dimension." Hermione explained. "Some one came out of the portal to greet me and invite me to follow them back if I wanted to complete the ritual."

"And you followed this unknown individual through an interdimensional portal with no idea what lay on the other side?" Snape asked incredulously. "Bloody Gryffindors..."

"She seemed nice enough." Hermione answered defensively. "And I got back okay."

"Tell me, what materials did you need for the ritual?" Snape asked.

"Really all I needed was samples of nine different kinds of metals." Hermione answered, wondering why Professor Snape seemed confused by her answer. "It did not require any exotic potions or ingredients."

"What exactly did the ritual do?" Professor Dumbledore asked. Hermione thought about how to explain it for a moment, but wasn't certain exactly what to say.

"I think it will be easier if I show you." Hermione said. "I'll need a little space. Don't worry, it's safe."

Dumbledore and Snape looked at each other uncertainly, but eventually decided to allow Hermione the chance to demonstrate her extraordinary power. Hermione rose from her chair and stood in the empty space between the door and Dumbledore's desk. She looked around, making sure she had enough space, before beginning the process of opening a portal. Her hands waved in an elaborate dance while the small, silver bracelets that had been hidden on her wrists up until this point began to glow. Seconds later a small ball of energy began to form in front of her and a short while later it had flattened out into an oval portal.

"Amazing!" Dumbledore said excitedly. Snape merely nodded in agreement.

As they watched a humanoid figure began to emerge from the portal. At first they could not tell exactly what the individual looked like, but eventually it came into focus and revealed a a dark purple woman with large, green eyes and flowing silver hair clothed in a white silk-like material. It was the same person that Hermione had summoned months before in an attempt to cure Harry.

"How may I be of assistance, gate keeper?" the woman asked calmly. Her focus alternated from Snape to Dumbledore but she could sense no hostility from them towards her.

"His hand." Hermione answered, pointing to Dumbledore blackened arm. "Can you repair it?" The woman nodded in acceptance of the task and stepped towards Dumbledore's desk for a better view of the injury. She examined it for a few minutes before running her finger along the damaged portion of the arm. That seemed to be all she needed to see because afterwards she turned to face Hermione and give her diagnosis.

"It is a dark wound and if left untreated would eventually kill him." she announced. "However, I can restore his limb back to its normal state. Do you wish for me to proceed?"

"Professor Drumbledore?" Hermione asked, looking for his decision.

"I would very much appreciate your help." Dumbledore agreed. The figure nodded and placed her hands on Dumbledore's upper arm, encircling it completely with her fingers. Suddenly her purple hands began to emit a soft blue glow and she brought her hands down Dumbledore's arm. When she was done all of the blackness on the arm was gone and it appeared to be fully healed. Dumbledore flexed the arm and wiggled his fingers, the smile on his face evidence that the procedure had worked.

"Will that be all, gate keeper?" the woman asked.

"Yes. Thank you." Hermione replied. The woman nodded and stepped back through the portal which closed behind her. Once she was gone silence descended on the room as Hermione waited to hear how her professors would react and the professors marveled at what they had seen. It was Snape that finally spoke first.

"Such power would not come without great cost." Snape observed. "What was taken from you?"

"A thousand years of my freedom." Hermione answered with a shrug. "So far I think it will be worth it."

"Voldemort must never be allowed to wield this power." Dumbledore said. "Though I believe you will use the power for good, Voldemort would not. You are a target now, Ms Granger, even more than you have been in the past due to your friendship with Harry."

"I promise to be careful, sir." Hermione replied.

"Professor Snape and I have much to discuss, but I am very interested in hearing more about your experiences and what you have learned through this ritual." Dumbledore said. "Thank you Ms Granger, hopefully we will be able to talk again soon."

"Oh. Thank you, Professor." Hermione answered, realizing she was being dismissed and thankful that no one seemed to be angry with her. She quickly gathered her things and walked out the door, leaving Dumbledore and Snape alone. Snape retook his seat in front of Dumbledore desk and appeared to be deep in thought.

"You are troubled, Severus." Dumbledore commented.

"Of course." Snape answered. "Who knows what the limits of that power are. Of course the Dark Lord desires it. That would explain his recent obsession with reading obscure dark books. But I do not believe he is looking in the right direction."

"Why is that?" Dumbledore asked.

"He has found something, of that I have no doubt." Snape explained. "Earlier this week he presented the Death Eaters a list of obscure objects and ingredients that he required as soon as possible. I believe he is attempting to perform a ritual that he hopes will grant him the power Granger has, but judging from her description he is trying something completely different."

"Then you must uncover what ritual it is Voldemort is attempting." Dumbledore commanded. "It is of utmost importance."

"I have never seen anything like it in either my own library or the one here at Hogwarts, and the Dark Lord trusts no one enough to give up a secret so valuable." Snape said skeptically. "It is possible that the book he is using is one of a kind."

"We must hope not." Dumbledore replied. "The Blacks have an exceptionally large library with many dark books. I know for a fact that Voldemort has craved access to it for many years. Perhaps you and Sirius will be able to find something of use there."

"You want me to work with Black?" Snape asked unhappily. Dumbledore nodded in response. "Very well, I will try. But don't blame me if I am forced to curse him."

"Come now, Severus. Surely you two can put this silly childhood feud aside for the greater good?" Dumbledore said. Snape decided not to argue with him and remained silent. "Excellent. We can only hope that time is on our side and Voldemort is not able to attempt this ritual before we learn exactly what it does."

"Indeed." Snape answered. "The Dark Lord believes that the curse he struck you with is incurable, meaning you now hold an advantage."

"Precisely." Dumbledore agreed. "Which is why I must stay hidden and let him believe that I am near death. The end of the war is nearing, Severus. We must have every advantage possible if our world and way of life is to survive."

"And what will you be doing while we wait for the end to come?" Snape asked.

"I do believe it is time that I took a more active role in training Harry." Dumbledore replied with a smile. "I may not be able to overcome Voldemort, but I still have much to teach."

* * *

"I still can't believe after all that's happened we're really going to do this." Alicia Spinnet said as she looked out the door and on to the Quidditch pitch which was already full of cheering students. The Gryffindor Quidditch team had just finished their final preparations and were waiting to be called out onto the pitch.

"Ravenclaw wanted to play, Alicia." George reminded her. "This wouldn't be happening if they didn't want it to."

"I know." Alicia agreed as she turned away from the door and walked back to where the rest of the team was sitting. "It's just not fair to them. Cho was a great seeker."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement, but said nothing more. None of them wanted to dwell on the fact that Cho Chang and many of their other friends and classmates had died in Hogsmeade. No one on the Gryffindor team had been badly injured and Cho was the only casualty from the Ravenclaw team and so the game still would be competitive. This was to be the first Quidditch game since the attacks and for that reason had drawn much more interest than was normal. It was being broadcast on the Wizarding Wireless Network and it was rumored that Minister Bones herself might be in attendance.

"People want things to go back to normal." Harry commented. "This is just a part of it. I say we give them a good game."

"Just don't let them take too many shots on goal, ok?" Ron said weakly, obviously worried about how he would perform. That prompted real laughs from the rest of them.

"Poor little, ickle Ronniekins, are you going to be ok on your broom?" Fred teased. "Don't worry, George and I will keep the bad men away."

"Get serious people!" Angelina Johnson, the captain, yelled. "Game time in five minutes!"

"Quit stressing, Angelina." George told her, sitting down on the bench next to her.

"Right." Fred agreed, sitting down on the other side of her. "Have we ever let you down?" Angelina looked back and forth between the two twin brothers before dramatically covering her face and loudly sobbing.

"We're doomed!" Angelina cried. Fred and George responded by throwing their arms around their captain and pretending to cry as well. Alicia and Katie merely rolled their eyes at the sight, they had seen similar things before Quidditch games for several years now. Fred and George seemed to think the best way to calm the nerves was to make people laugh, and they were pretty good at it. While they continued to goof off movement at the door caught Harry's attention and when it opened he was quite surprised to see Cedric Diggory standing in the entrance chuckling at what was going on.

"I always knew weird stuff happened in the Gryffindor locker rooms." Cedric said, drawing the attention of everyone else.

"This is nothing compared to what I've heard goes on in the Hufflepuff locker room!" George retorted with a laugh. Harry was the first to make his way over to Cedric and welcome him in. Harry knew that he and Cho had continued to date even after he graduated from Hogwarts so it was not surprising to find him at the match.

"Hooch wants you all out there. Good luck, guys." Cedric said. The Gryffindor quidditch team made their way outside, each stopping to shake Cedric's hand as they passed. Harry stayed behind for a moment so that he could talk to his friend a little longer.

"It's good to see you, Cedric." Harry said. "Are you doing ok?"

"As well as can be expected I suppose." Cedric replied with a sad look on his face. "It still doesn't seem real, you know? But I'm glad you guys are playing today, I think it's what Cho would have wanted."

"She was a great girl." Harry told him sincerely. There had even been a time when he nursed a small crush her, back before the mess with the Triwizard Tournament had happened and his relationship with Daphne had begun. He realized that had only been a year ago, but somehow it seemed much longer. Outside he could hear the Gryffindor team being announced to the cheers of the audience. "Sounds like I've got to go. See you after the match, ok?"

"Sure." Cedric replied. "Have a good game, Harry."

Harry nodded and ran out of the room with his trust Firebolt in his hand. He made it just in time to hear his name being announced as the Gryffindor seeker and the ear shattering cheers that went with it. Harry waved at the crowd, hoping to show that he appreciated their cheers as he took the scene in. He did not think he had ever seen so many people at a Hogwarts Quidditch match. They had even needed to add additional bleachers to fit them all in. And, as expected, Minister of Magic Amelia Bones was sitting in the stands clapping. The surprising part however was seeing his godfather Sirius Black standing next to her cheering madly. Harry gave them both a thumbs up before hopping onto his broom and rising high into the air to wait for the game to start.

Harry took his normal place above the rest of the team, hoping to catch a glimpse of the snitch that had just been released but with no success. Across the pitch Cho's replacement, a third year names Bradley who up until a few days ago had been a back up chaser, looked quite nervous. Once the whistle blew and the game began Harry flew straight towards the other seeker. The Ravenclaw looked confused about what Harry was doing.

"Hey kid." Harry called. "It's ok to be nervous, just do your best."

The Ravenclaw seeker nodded, took a deep breath, and flew off in search of the snitch. Harry flew in the opposite direction to begin his search. Below him Katie Bell had the quaffle and was speeding towards their opponents goal but right before she could take her shot she was forced to make a sharp turn in order to avoid a bludger. A Ravenclaw chaser was able to steal the quaffle and take off towards the Gryffindor goals. After two quick passes and one graceful dodge of a bludger Ravenclaw took the first shot of the game, one which Ron was not able to defend.

"Ravenclaw scores! 10 - 0!" the announcer yelled to the approval of the crowd. Harry looked back towards the goal to see that Ron appeared very upset which did not bode well for the rest of the game. Harry knew that the outcome would probably depend on his ability to catch the snitch and that he had better do it soon.

Ravenclaw scored two more times before Gryffindor was able to score their first goal. Fred and George, aware of their younger brother's struggles as keeper, became a two man wrecking crew and were mostly able to keep the Ravenclaw chasers out of the scoring area. This tactic, however, freed up the Ravenclaw seeker to look for the snitch without having to worry about bludgers flying at him while Harry had to contend with both of the Ravenclaw beaters attempting to knock him off of his broom. Harry's reputation as the school's best seeker meant that opposing teams often had their beaters concentrate all of their attention on keeping him away from the snitch.

Harry expertly performs a sloth grip roll and narrowly avoided a bludger that had been speeding towards his head. When he recovered from the move he saw the Ravenclaw seeker suddenly change course and begin speeding towards the Hufflepuff stands. Harry quickly decided to follow him even though he had not seen the snitch yet and was soon right behind the other seeker. His Firebolt gave Harry the speed advantage which he used to pull even with his rival seeker. It was only then that he realized that his opponent had not seen the snitch at all and was merely trying to get Harry to waste his time. Harry groaned in disappointment and headed back to the center of the pitch to continue his search. While he had been following the Ravenclaw seeker their beaters had returned to the game and Ravenclaw had managed to score two more goals and increase their lead to 50 - 10.

Ron was still struggling in his first game as Gryffindor keeper, much to his own disappointment. Ravenclaw finally picked up on this weakness and ordered their beaters to leave Harry alone and focus on helping them score as many points as possible before Harry was able to catch the snitch. Eventually even their seeker abandoned the search for the snitch and became a fourth chaser for Ravenclaw to use against Gryffindor. Thirty minutes later Ravenclaw had stretched their lead to 180 - 40, meaning that if they were able to score a few more goals it wouldn't matter if Harry caught the snitch.

Finally Harry saw something small and golden moving on the other side of the pitch. After almost an hour of play the golden snitch had finally decided to make an appearance. Harry raced towards it with his path taking him straight through the field of play. The Ravenclaws saw him and knew that they did not have much time left to score again if they wanted to win. One of their chasers grabbed the quaffle and began flying along the sideline on his way to the Gryffindor goals only to be hit by a well aimed bludger courtesy of Fred Weasley. The impact caused him to drop the quaffle but unfortunately for Gryffindor one of his teammates was better positioned to recover it than they were.

Harry meanwhile was in hot pursuit of the snitch. It darted in all directions while accelerating and decelerating suddenly and with no warning, but still Harry followed right behind it and was gaining ground with every passing second. Feeling he was close enough to start trying to grab the snitch, Harry stuck out his arm and reached for it. It was only inches away and Harry was pushing his broom as fast as it would go to close the distance. The the snitch made a drastic left turn and Harry was forced to put both hands back on the broom to follow it. The turn had once again increased the distance between him and the snitch, but he was still close behind it.

Ravenclaw's offense had pushed the quaffle further towards the Gryffindor goals. Both teams knew how important this possession was and were being even more physical than normal. Ravenclaw held the numerical advantage though because their seeker was playing as a chaser and it was that fact which enabled their captain, Roger Davies, to break free and take a shot. The crowd fell silent as the quaffle sailed through the air with everyone wondering if Ron would be able to stop it. The Gryffindor stands roared in approval as Ron was finally able to make a stop and the quaffle bounced off his chest and began falling to the ground. Unfortunately their happiness was short lived because Ravenclaw was again able to gain possession of the quaffle and attempt to set up another shot. Another quick pass later and they were ready to try and score again...

Harry had regained ground on the golden snitch and was as close as ever to reaching it. With his hand a few mere inches away from the snitch he half of the crowd cheer and the other half groan in disappointment but he had no time to look up to see why. His focus was solely on the snitch. Finally his hand closed around the pesky flying ball, ending the game.

"Potter catches the snitch! Game over! It's a draw!" the announcer yelled.

Harry looked back towards his team who were looking quite unhappy with the result. The cheer he had heard had been a result of Ravenclaw scoring again and putting them ahead by 150 points. Harry felt a little disappointed his team had not won, but the happy cheers from the audience seemed to indicate it was a result that they were all pleased with. As he lowered his broom to the ground he remembered there were much more important things going on this day than Quidditch and perhaps this was the best way they game could have ended.


	47. Chapter 47

"So do you really think we'll find anything useful in my library?" Sirius asked as he led Snape into the library. He didn't particularly like giving his childhood rival access to his family's resources but had to reluctantly agree with Dumbledore that it was the best option. Snape immediately went to the shelf and began looking through the books there. The library it self was huge with shelves covering every free part of the walls and stretching from the floor to the ceiling. A small table was positioned in the center of the room with chairs all around it, but other than that the library had been cleared of furniture.

"I do not know." Snape answered truthfully. "Is this it? I was led to believe the Black's library was far larger than this?"

"This is only a small part of it." Sirius replied. "The rest are in a secret room connected to the main office. There are literally thousands upon thousands of books and scrolls here, it's going to take a lifetime to go through everything. You know that right?"

"We don't have a lifetime." Snape said. "The Dark Lord's plans are proceeding while we are still in the dark as to what he is going to do. Whatever his plans are they are monumental, something that will change the war forever. That much is obvious from his attitude towards it."

"I heard you when you said that the first time." Sirius responded angrily. "You know as well as I do research has never been my strong point. I would be better off doing other things."

"Then leave if you must." Snape said dismissively. "I have work to do."

Sirius sighed and sat down in a chair at the table in the center of the room. He was, of course, going to stay and help. Sirius had little choice in the matter if the threat was as dire as Dumbledore had made it out to be. Mostly he would do it for Harry because he knew as well as anyone that it was his godson's lot in life to face Voldemort and Sirius would do anything he could to make Harry's task easier.

"Fine." Sirius finally said. "Give me a book and let's get started."

* * *

Harry looked around the table and smiled; it was good to have all his friends back together and healthy. He along with Daphne, Hermione, and Neville were studying in the library just like normal students. For now the worries of tests and essays were more pressing than war.

"Wait a second, do we add moonstone or moonseed to this?" Harry asked as he attempted to write out one of his potions from memory as he knew would be required on his OWLs.

"Come on, Harry, even I know that one." Neville laughed.

"How'd you let yourself get so far behind in potions anyway?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not that far behind!" Harry protested. "And I've had a lot going on lately. Training to defeat dark lords and all that."

"Fine, I'll tell him." Daphne sighed. "Moonseed is extremely poisonous, as our resident Herbology expert here could have told you. That would make an odd addition to what is basically a variety of love potion wouldn't it?"

"Ok, that's a good point." Harry agreed. "But other than that I had it right. Didn't I?" Hermione leaned over and began reading, nodding her head as she did. Halfway down she pulled out her quill and circled one line on Harry's paper.

"That should simmer for 15 minutes, not 5." Hermione said. "But the rest is correct."

"Told you I wasn't a dummy!" Harry said to Daphne, followed by sticking his tongue out at her.

"And I never suggested you were." she replied, then sticking her tongue out at him before starting to laugh. "I'm actually quite proud of the work I've done with you. With Hermione's help we've turned you into a quite capable wizard."

"Oh and I don't get any of the credit?" Harry asked.

"Nope." Hermione answered. "It's all about us, haven't you realized that yet?"

"Neville?" Harry said. "Some help maybe?"

"Of course they're wrong, Harry." Neville replied. "I helped out too. You were bollocks at herbology, remember?"

"Neville's right." Daphne agreed. "He deserves some praise for the Harry Potter experiment, too."

Harry grunted in disapproval while the others laughed and eventually they returned to their studies. A few minutes later however an enchanted paper airplane flew into the library and began circling around the ceiling as if searching for something. This drew the attention most of the people in the library, including Harry who thought that perhaps one of the Weasley twins was responsible for it. After a few more laps around the room the plane made a perfect landing right in front of Harry and stopped moving.

"I guess it's for you." Neville commented. "Who is it from?"

Harry poked at the paper with his wand, worried that it might be some kind of trick especially if it was from Fred or George, but it appeared to be safe. He then grabbed the plane, sighing in relief when nothing happened as he did, and unfolded it so he could read the note. A look of surprise crossed his face as he did.

"It's from Dumbledore." Harry said. "He wants to meet me right away on the seventh floor by the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy."

"About that..." Hermione said reluctantly. "I might have said something to Dumbledore when I saw him about finding the Room of Requirement. But I didn't tell him where it was, he must have figured that out on his own."

"It's not a big deal Hermione." Harry assured her. "I don't think he is going to try and stop us from using it or let the rest of the school know about it. I guess I had better go then, are you guys going to stay here for a while?"

"For another hour or two I think." Daphne answered. Harry nodded and gave her a quick kiss before gathering up his things and stuffing them in his bag.

"There's no telling how long this could take." Harry warned. "Don't bother waiting for me if I'm not back by the time you're finished." They all said their goodbyes and Harry left the library headed for the seventh floor. He, like the most of the school, had not actually seen the Headmaster since the night of the Hogsmeade attack and although he had learned from Hermione that his arm had been healed Harry still wondered what condition the old professor was in following his defeat at the hands of Lord Voldemort.

When he finally reached the corridor on the seventh floor that contained the entrance to the Room or Requirement he found that it was empty, but as he neared the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy he began to sense a strong magical presence nearby. Harry cautiously took out his wand and pointed it towards the point where the feeling seemed to be coming from.

"Professor?" Harry asked. A moment later the empty space he had been looking at seemed to to become distorted like a reflection on a uneven mirror or on the surface of a lake. Then the illusion failed completely, revealing Professor Dumbledore who looked quite pleased with the situation.

"Well done, Harry." Dumbledore commented. "As you can see, there are more ways than just an invisibility cloak to hide your presence."

"I don't think I've ever seen that one before." Harry replied. "It was more than just a disillusionment charm."

"Right you are." Dumbledore agreed. "Trust me, Harry, you will learn it soon enough."

"You look healthy." Harry said after looking closely at his professor. "But you still haven't stopped the rumors going around that you're dying and you didn't want to be seen coming up here. You're trying to trick Voldemort aren't you?"

"Precisely." Dumbledore confirmed. "And if Tom assumes the Order of the Phoenix is weaker than it really is, well then that is his own mistake. Now Ms Granger let it slip that you had found the long lost Room of Requirement. I was able to deduce its location, but not how to access it. Will you show me?"

"Sure." Harry said. "How did you know it was here."

"I once was wondering the seventh floor in severe need of a bathroom." Dumbledore explained. "Lo and behold, I was able to find a room filled with chamber pots. When I went searching for it again I was unable to find it, an event which I found to be quite curious. Your friend's description of the room reminded me of that and I suspected that I should have known where the Room of Requirement was all along."

"All you have to do is think about exactly what you want the room to be then walk back and forth right here three times." Harry said. "The a door will appear and the room should look like you wanted it to. Do you want me to show you?"

"Actually I would prefer to try it for myself." Dumbledore replied. Following Harry's instructions, he began walking back and forth in front of the tapestry and on the third pass a door began to form in the wall just as Harry said it would. "Marvelous. Shall we go in?"

Harry shrugged and followed Dumbledore through the door. On the other side he found a large, brightly lit, empty space. There was no furniture and the walls themselves were plain. Harry walked to the center of the room and looked all around, expecting to find something of interest but instead saw that he room was completely plain.

"Is this really what you wanted the room to be?" Harry asked. He turned to see Dumbledore nodding, indicating it was. "Why?"

"Harry I may have been healed from my injury, but I am still one hundred and fifteen years old." Dumbledore explained. "In my life I have fought wars and gained political power, but I consider my most important role that as teacher. It would be a shame for me to pass on to the next great adventure without sharing the knowledge I have gained in my life with someone, and I choose you. You are the leader of the light, and I suspect you will continue to hold that position long after Tom is dead. I have made many mistakes when it comes to you, I hope you let me begin to make it up to you in this way."

"Where do we start?" Harry asked, excited by the opportunity.

"Well I thought that perhaps we could start with telling you all I knew and suspected concerning Voldemort's past..." Dumbledore began, smiling at the skeptical look on Harry's face. "But truthfully you know more than enough about Tom. So perhaps we should skip ahead to magic you might not have learned yet. Magic you might not be able to find in any book in the Hogwarts library."

"Can we start with that disappearing spell you used?" Harry asked.

"Certainly."

* * *

As the members of the Order of the Phoenix continued to arrive at Number 12 Grimmauld place Harry sat at the table talking to Sirius and wondering what was going on. Dumbledore had called the meeting only hours before which was out of the ordinary. He had not heard of any new attacks that had happened, a fact that Sirius had confirmed for him when he arrived. Over the past few months the faces around the table had become very familiar to Harry through these meetings and he believed he could trust all of them, but still he sometimes wondered if Voldemort felt the same way about his Death Eaters. Strangely, it was at that time that Professor Snape entered the room and took a seat next to Mad Eye Moody whose magical eye spun in its socket before focusing on Snape and then quickly looked elsewhere. Although he assumed the potions master was loyal to Dumbledore there was always a part of him that wondered if it was really true.

"I believe we are now all here." Professor Dumbledore said as he walked into the room and took a seat. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice."

"What's this about, Dumbledore?" Daniel Greengrass asked from his seat beside Harry. Several other nodded in agreement with the question.

"Straight to the point. Very well." Dumbledore replied. "You are all aware that since the murder of Rufus Scrimgeour over a month ago the Death Eaters have launched no further attacks. The Daily Prophet gives credit to Minister Bones for this fact, however we all know that the Ministry has not done anything that could produce such a change. Tonight I can admit to all of you that for some time I and a few others have had some idea of what Voldemort is up to and why."

"You mean I've been investigating for the past month for no reason?" Tonks asked frustratedly. "Figures."

"I apologize for the deception, but I felt it was for the best." Dumbledore assured her. "Voldemort is preparing a ritual, we know that much. However what ritual, what exactly it will do, and when he plans on performing it remain unknown to us. The only real information we have on it is a list of hard to find items that Voldemort has tasked his most senior Death Eaters with finding as soon as possible. According to Severus, today he came into possession of the last missing piece and could therefore perform this ritual at any time."

"What's stopping him?" Amos Diggory asked.

"There are many possibilities, but the truth is that we simply do not know." Dumbledore answered. "Perhaps there is still a piece missing, one he did trust even his Death Eaters to find. Or perhaps there is a time sensitive part of the ritual. The next full moon is two days from now on the seventh, it could be that is what he is waiting for. But, our best guess is that Voldemort is planning for this ritual to coincide with a massive attack that he is not quite ready for. Severus?"

"Lucius Malfoy has been missing for over a month." Snape announced. "Neither the Death Eaters nor his family have heard from him in that time and it was assumed that he was on some mission given to him by the Dark Lord himself. The Dark Lord recently let slip what that mission was: Lucius has been on the continent attempting to recruit foreign purebloods to Voldemort's cause."

"They'd be stupid to ally themselves with that maniac." Moody observed.

"Indeed. But Lucius can be quite persuasive when he wants to be." Snape replied. "He has been authorized to promise these foreign pureblood groups that once Voldemort has consolidated power in Great Britain he will assist them in overthrowing their own governments and spreading pureblooded rule across all of Europe."

"And right after that happens Voldemort will take control of the governments they've built." Daniel said. "Did anyone buy it?"

"More than you would think." Snape answered. "They either believe Voldemort's promises or think that he is no real threat to them. In either case they are mistaken. Voldemort now brags that he can have more than one hundred dark wizards fighting at his side in a matter of hours."

"Did they take the Dark Mark?" Moody asked.

"It was not offered to them." Snape replied. "I believe, as Dumbledore does, that he is preparing for a massive battle. He expects these wizards to fight against his enemies and die doing so. That will weaken both our forces in England and the foreign pureblooded groups that might oppose him in the future. They mean nothing to him and are not even worth marking."

"Sirius told me what you two have been looking in his library for." Daniel said. "I've begun searching my own library but haven't found anything. Is it possible for you to somehow gain possession of whatever text Voldemort is using?"

"He doesn't trust me, or anyone, that much." Snape answered with a shake of his head. "I've tried, but with no success."

"So what can we do now?" Tonks asked. "It sounds like something big is coming and we're completely clueless as to what it is and when it's going to happen."

"That is, unfortunately, an accurate description." Dumbledore agreed. "It is imperative we discover what Voldemort is doing. Meanwhile we will do what we can to build our own strength. By now you have all heard the prophecy and so you should know this: Harry is destined to defeat Voldemort. To that end I have been personally training him for the past month and can honestly say that I have more hope than ever that we will win this war."

"He's just a boy, Dumbledore!" Molly Weasley sobbed. "How can we put this on his shoulders?"

"Because no one else can do it, Mrs Weasley." Harry replied. "I didn't want this either, but I can't back down from it. The Order of the Phoenix is still Dumbledore's group, but he wants me to take a more prominent role in representing the side of the light. That's another role I don't want, but for some reason people believe me when I tell them we are going to win this war. So it's my responsibility to be out there telling them that."

"Which is why Harry has been allowing himself to be seen in the company of Minister Bones so frequently." Dumbledore noted. "Most notably this past weekend in the Hogsmeade rebuilding effort."

"She's a nice lady, way better than Fudge." Harry commented. "Plus she realizes I'm not just some tool she can use as she pleases."

"Amelia is doing her best as Minister." Sirius added. "There are more Aurors now than at any point in the last twenty five years."

"And I fear we will need every single one of them." Dumbledore noted.

"There's something else going on you need to be aware of." Moody said, drawing everyone's attention towards him. "The muggle papers have been reporting a massive number of grave robbings happening in the last few weeks. In every case the person it belonged to had been dead for less than a year and the body was missing."

"Inferii." Daniel said.

"That's my guess." Moody agreed. "A muggle groundskeeper went missing at one of the cemeteries as well, likely killed and turned into an inferius like the others."

"Voldemort is building his army however he can it would seem." Dumbledore noted. "In large numbers inferii can be quite dangerous. We must learn what other resources Voldemort has available to him. Contact every source you can, we must know what dangers we face. Thank you everyone, and good luck."

The meeting broke up at that point with everyone feeling a bit more apprehensive about the future of the war than they had before. It was slowly becoming clear that some massive battle was coming, and unfortunately for those fighting on the side of the light they held precious little information on what the dark was planning.

* * *

Harry was panting, covered in sweat and blood, and suspected that one of his ribs was broken. Even so there was a smile on his face because he was still on his feet fighting and he was doing well. Dumbledore stood at the other end of the Room of Requirement, his elaborate robes shredded and burnt, but oddly his eyes were twinkling as if he was happy with what he had seen. The room around them was a complete wreck, looking like the battleground it had become. Massive craters had been formed in the floor and in one place the wall was actually on fire.

"Well done, Harry." Dumbledore said. "We can stop for today, if you'd like."

"Now why would I want to do that?" Harry asked. "I'm about to win."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Dumbledore replied. Harry was capable of beating him, the old professor knew, and in fact had come very close on a few occasions in the past week through a combination of strength, skill, and creativity. Dumbledore sensed that even now Harry was holding back, most likely afraid to unleash his true power because he did not want to kill his teacher. Dumbledore did not worry about Harry having similar concerns when the final battle against Voldemort came, in fact he suspected that the power Harry was capable of would surprise even him. "Your move, Harry."

Harry nodded and raised his wand towards his opponent. Dumbledore's eyes never left him as he waited to see what Harry would do. Suddenly Harry apparated to another spot and fired a spell towards Dumbledore, apparating again the instant that spell left his wand. Harry repeated the process as quickly as he could, hoping to catch Dumbledore off guard, but the old wizard was able to block or avoid every spell thrown at him. Dumbledore knew that Harry's tactic was rarely used because of how tiring it was and had decided to simply wait for Harry to stop before beginning his own attack.

Harry knew the flaw in his plan his tactic, and had been able to guess Dumbledore's response to it, so he realized he had to come up with something new if he wanted to win.

Harry knew that one advantage he held over his opponent was his speed and reflexes and so his best course of action was to do something that took advantage of that. Harry kept up that constant apparition and spell firing, but Dumbledore was surprised to see that Harry was no longer aiming towards him. Instead Harry was firing a spell that would keep bouncing off of inanimate objects, including shields, until it finally hit a living thing at which point it would violently explode. In a closed room like they were in the spell was especially dangerous.

Soon over a dozen spells were bouncing off the wall in different directions forcing Dumbledore to raise a shield to protect himself. This was just the moment Harry had been waiting for because it gave him the chance to attempt to overpower Dumbledore's shield. Harry fired a blasting curse at top power at Dumbledore, but his shield held. Harry was about to give up when he realized he still had dozens of spells bouncing around that he, as their caster, could exert some control over. With a wave of his hand all of the spells changed course and flew straight towards Dumbledore and made impact at the exact same time. When the dust from the explosion settled Dumbledore had been dropped to one knee and looked to be in bad shape.

"I yield, Harry." Dumbledore said. "Well done."

"Did you let me win?" Harry asked, uncertain that his victory was legitimate. They both took the chance to begin healing their wounds.

"No, I did not." Dumbledore replied. "I was a fool and assumed I would be able to withstand your attack. I underestimated you, Harry, and if this were a real duel I would have paid dearly for that mistake."

"Let me help you up." Harry said as he rushed over to lend the Headmaster a hand. "If it makes you feel any better even I wasn't sure I could wandlessly redirect those spells. I guess my control has improved."

"It certainly has." Dumbledore agreed. "You are a powerful wizard Harry, and in the past two months I have come to respect you even more than I had imagined possible."

"Thanks." Harry replied. "I've learned a lot from you."

"And I hope I still have much to teach." Dumbledore said. "Speaking of school, will you be leaving for the Christmas break?"

"Not until the weekend." Harry answered. It was Wednesday, December 20 and although Harry did not give it any thought was a day before the winter solstice. "It seems like a lot of people are staying this year."

"That is true." Dumbledore agreed. "Many parents believe that the safest place for their children to be is here at Hogwarts. Even though the attacks have stopped our world is still at war and they realize that."

"Thanks again, Professor." Harry said. "I'm going to go get some lunch."

Dumbledore smiled in response as Harry walked towards the door. When it opened though they were both surprised to see Hermione standing at the entrance looking very worried. She rushed through the door as soon as it opened seemed to be relieved when she saw Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor I've been looking all over for you!" Hermione said. "So has Professor Snape, he said he needs to see you right away. He said to tell you that he found it."

"The ritual." Harry said. Dumbledore nodded in agreement with Harry's guess.

"Why don't you both accompany me to my office." Dumbledore said. "You need to hear this Harry and I hope that you might have some insight Ms Granger."

Dumbledore cast the invisibility spell on himself before leaving the Room of Requirement with Harry and Hermione following close behind him. Harry could sense the Professor's presence and was able to track his movements while Hermione was simply following Harry. Harry was somewhat amused that Dumbledore was weaving his way through students in the hallway and that they had no idea he was there. The rumors of his decreasing health had continued to spread like wildfire and some were even suggesting Dumbledore was dead but the Ministry did not want to admit it.

Finally they made it to Dumbledore's office where the gargoyle moved aside for the Headmaster without him even needing to speak the password. Harry and Hermione followed him up the stairs and once in the office found Professor Snape and Sirius silently looking over a tattered old book. They both looked up when the others entered the room.

"Severus, what news?" Dumbledore asked.

"I believe we found the ritual in a copy of a journal written by Canweard the Wise." Snape answered. "It is, as we suspected, a summoning spell."

"Summoning what?" Dumbledore asked.

"Canweard was never able to complete it." Snape explained. "But he believed it to be a connection to some sort of hell dimension with vicious beasts he hoped to be able to control."

"And does Voldemort possess all he needs to finish it?"

"Unfortunately, yes he does." Snape replied. "It gets worse. The ritual must be performed on a solstice or equinox, and the winter solstice is tomorrow."

"That's what he's been waiting for." Harry stated. "How are we going to stop him?"

"We were just getting to that." Sirius said. "It can't just be done anyway, Voldemort needs a strong magical location for the ritual to draw on. Canweard tried Stonehenge over a thousand years ago and it didn't just fail but broke the magic of the place for all time. There's only a few places we could think of that might work."

"And the most likely one is Hogwarts." Dumbledore finished for him. "I must prepare the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius, would you and Harry discuss this with Minister Bones? We will need her help as well. Ms Granger, perhaps you could assist Professor Snape in researching this ritual. We must learn everything we can about it, including how to stop it. There is no time to waste."

No one argued with Dumbledore's assessment of the situation, they simply got to work preparing for the inevitable. They were lucky to have any warning at all that the battle was coming, and though one day did not seem like much it was enough to give them the chance to level the playing field.

* * *

Daphne was completely unaware of the drama unfolding in the Headmaster's office. She knew Harry had planned to train with Professor Dumbledore during the morning,, something he was able to do because his last midterm exam had been the day before. She, on the other hand, had just finished her last test of semester. She had done well thanks in part to long hours of studying the night before and had decided once the test was over she wanted nothing more than a nap.

It was with that in mind that she walked into her room in the Slytherin dormitory. Her roommate Pansy Parkinson appeared to have had a similar idea as her and was asleep in her bed. The two girls had mostly attempted to avoid each other this year which was fine by Daphne, but even so Daphne had noticed Pansy acting particularly upset over something the past few days. Had they been friends Daphne might have asked what was bothering her, but as it was Daphne didn't feel it was any of her business.

Daphne never saw Pansy fire the stunner that hit her in the back while pulling the covers on her bed back. She did hear Pansy say "Stupefy", but by the time she realized what was happening it was too late to do anything about. Daphne's body slumped forward onto the bed and she did not move any further.

Pansy felt bad for what she was doing to Daphne, but she had no choice. The Dark Lord had personally told her father that he would kill every member of their family if Pansy did not do exactly what he wanted. Everything she would need, including the invisibility cloak and portkey, had been sent to her in a package she received just that morning. She only hoped that once she had sent Daphne to the Dark Lord her family would be safe.

Pansy had planned for this moment over the past week and knew exactly what to do. It was lunchtime, meaning most people would be near the Great Hall. She would take a path out of the castle that avoided them. The last thing she wanted was to be discovered with her unconscious roommate being levitated behind her under an invisibility cloak. How would she ever explain that?

In the end everything went exactly according to plan. No one stopped or questioned her on her way out of the castle or on her walk to the edge of the wards that prevented apparition or portkey use. The portkey worked exactly how she had been told it would, disappearing with Daphne once she spoke the password. Once it was done she silently walked back to the castle and to her room. Once there she locked the door behind her, laid on her bed, and began to cry.


	48. Chapter 48

After over two hours of meetings with the Minister of Magic and a few of her most trusted aides Harry finally exited the floo in Professor Dumbledore's office. Hermione and Professor Snape were both still there, now joined by Professor McGongall, deep in discussion about the ritual and what exactly they were going to do about it. He paused for a moment, wondering if he should join them, but eventually decided to let them be for now. They could tell him what had been decided in a few hours, until then he would just be in their way.

He left Dumbledore's office and began walking towards the Great Hall to finally eat the meal he had missed earlier. Food seemed like such a silly thing to be worried about at this point but he knew keeping his mind and body in top shape would be vital for when the fighting finally started. When he entered the Great Hall he was surprised to see that even a few hours after most people would have eaten lunch it was still full of people having a good time and completely unaware of what was going on. They had no idea what kind of danger they were in. Why, he wondered, hadn't Dumbledore began sending them home already?

The answer was obvious and typical of Dumbledore: if the school was evacuated Voldemort would realize that they knew what his plans were. Dumbledore was risking the lives of the students to maintain an advantage over Voldemort. That fact was not surprising either. He had done the same thing in Harry first year when he decided to hide the Philosopher's Stone inside the castle. Harry understood the reasoning but still didn't like it.

"Harry! Where've you been old chap?" Fred Weasley called from the Gryffindor table, waving Harry over towards him. Harry nodded and went to sit with the twins.

"What's with the face?" George asked. "Let me guess: problems with your lady friend?"

"Probably." Fred agreed. "You heard he forgot her birthday, didn't you? Maybe he just realized Christmas is a week away and he hasn't gotten her anything."

"I learned my lesson on that one." Harry said. "Christmas is taken care of."

"So not woman problems then." George shrugged.

"I've got it!" Fred exclaimed. "You haven't seen Snape all day have you? It must be because Harry here blew up his potion, flunked his test, and sent Snape to the hospital."

"Wouldn't he be at least a little happy if that happened?" George asked. "I'm pretty sure I would be,"

"Good point." Fred agreed. "So then Mr Potter, what's going on?"

Harry hesitated, unsure of how to answer their question. They had the right to prepare themselves for what was coming just like anyone else, but what would happen if word spread too far and Voldemort found out they had uncovered their plan? It would certainly harm their strategic position and possibly reveal that Snape had been telling them every thing and was not actually loyal to the Dark Lord.

"You guys have to keep this quiet, and I mean that." Harry whispered. "There's bad stuff going on guys, and Hogwarts is about to get a whole lot more dangerous. Dumbledore is trying to keep everything quiet and honestly I sort of agree with him, but you two already know about the Order of the Phoenix and what they're doing so telling you couldn't hurt too I don't think. Just keep your eyes open and be prepared, ok?"

"Sure thing, Harry." George said, surprised from what Harry had said to them. "Anything else we can do?"

"Not unless you guys have come up with some secret weapon in that lab you two are always at work in." Harry replied. "But I don't think pranks and gags are going to win the war."

"You might be surprised." Fred answered. "George, I do believe I have an idea. To the secret lair?"

"Lead the way, Fred." George replied. The twins got up and left, already excitedly discussing something. Harry watched them go and wondered what in the world they could be planning but knew with those two there was really no way to know. Deciding he would just have to wait and see, Harry turned back to his meal and continued eating. He watched his classmates as he did, wishing that he could warn them of what was coming but know that the light's chances of victory would be better if they remained ignorant. Harry hated having to make that decision, one of the type Dumbledore had warned him he would inevitably face if he was to be a leader. He had been quick to criticize Dumbledore in the past and still felt most of it the Professor had deserved, but now he wondered if he had judged him too harshly. What would he have done in those situations? He didn't know and didn't want to think about it. It didn't help him at the moment anyway.

Finally finished with lunch, Harry decided to go relax for a bit. He knew he would not have many opportunities to do that in the coming day. A few minutes later he was laying on a couch in the Gryffindor common room listening to everyone joke and laugh while they celebrated the end of the term. Not long after that he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Eneverate."

Daphne's slowly opened as she attempted to figure out what was going on. The room she was in was dark and cold, lit only by a few candles on the opposite wall. She was sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall but when she began to stand up she saw that there were chains on her arms and legs the were connected to the wall. Although they had enough slack in them to allow her to stand up or sit down she could not move very far from the spot she was in.

"Good to see you again, Daphne. Aren't you going to say hello to your uncle Gabriel?"

Daphne's eyes darted to focus on where the voice had come from. She could see a figure standing in the shadows and when he finally stepped into the light she saw that it was indeed her uncle. Daphne's hand reached into her pocket, hoping that somehow her wand would still be there, but it was not. She vaguely remembered setting it on the table next to her bed right before Pansy had ambushed her.

"No wand, my dear." Gabriel laughed. "Just you and me here at the moment."

"My friends will find me." Daphne said. "And when they do they will kill you."

"So sure of that, aren't you?" Gabriel asked. "But no one even knows where you are. How do you think they are going to be able to save you?"

"Where are we?" Daphne asked.

"I don't think you need to worry about that." Gabriel answered. "But you are right on one thing, your little boyfriend will try to save you. We're counting on that."

"So I'm bait." Daphne realized.

"Oh you're more than that to me." Gabriel said. "You are going to live long enough to see the Dark Lord kill Harry Potter. But after that I am going to kill you, and then I am going to kill your father. After that I am going to kill your little sister. Astoria, wasn't it? And when that's done I will take my rightful place as the head of the Greengrass family and finally restore our family's honor. Your father and mine have done much to tarnish our family name."

"You're nothing compared to my father." Daphne boldly stated. "If Harry doesn't kill you, he will."

"He'll certainly try." Gabriel said. "Now, unfortunately I have to leave you for a bit. There is much to be done in the next few hours. The war ends tomorrow you see. A day from now nothing will be able to stop my lord and he will crush everyone who stands against him. Don't go anywhere, ok?"

Gabriel laughed as he walked out of the cell, closing and locking the door behind him. Daphne could hear his laughs echoing through the hallway, growing fainter and fainter until there was complete silence. For a few minutes she struggles against her bonds in the hope that she could break free, but it soon became clear that she was stuck. Finally she gave up and sat back down on the floor, resigned to simply hoping that an opportunity to escape would present itself or that someone would come rescue her.

* * *

The loud crack of someone dropping a textbook on the floor caused Harry to wake suddenly and sit up from his spot on the couch. He looked over to where the noise came from and saw a second year girl picking up her books and continuing on to her room. Harry checked the time and saw that he had been asleep for over two hours. It was late enough that a few people were already making their way to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry yawned and thought about what he needed to be doing.

Hermione, Snape, and McGonagall were probably still in Dumbledore's office discussing the ritual. He would need to be there soon to start getting a better idea of what they needed to do to stop Voldemort. He also remembered that he hadn't told either Daphne or Neville what was going on and they certainly deserved to know. Knowing it would be easier to start with Neville, Harry walked up to the fifth year boy's room to see if he was there but the room was empty. He then pulled the Marauder's Map out of his bag so that he could more easily locate his friend.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry said. Instantly the map began to appear on the piece of parchment, along with hundreds of dots and names that represented the people in the castle. Harry was able to quickly find Neville in one of the greenhouses apparently talking to Professor Sprout. Hermione, Snape, and McGonagall were all still in Dumbledore's office as he had suspected. And Daphne... wasn't in the Slytherin dorms. Or the Great Hall. Or in any of the classrooms. Or in the hallways. Or on the castle grounds. Or anywhere else the map showed.

Harry spread the map out on top of his bed and decided to look again. Surely, he thought, he had just missed her somewhere. But after another fifteen minutes of searching he still had not found Daphne. Even the he did not begin to panic because he knew there were places in the castle that the map didn't show. A few minutes later he had looked in the Room of Requirement and seen that she was not there. It was then that he began to worry. He even checked the Chamber of Secrets, a place he knew she probably couldn't get to, just to be sure.

When he had done that he went to ask Neville if he had seen Daphne, but unfortunately he had not. Unsure of what else to do, he began walking around the school looking for her and asking people if they had seen her. It was while doing this that he heard a familiar voice call out.

"Potter! Come here."

Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy waving him over. Harry frowned, instantly thinking that Draco had something to do with Daphne's disappearance and not liking that one bit. He walked over to the blond Slytherin and waited for him to start talking.

"I hear you're looking for Daphne." Malfoy began. "Well there's something you need to know..."

Draco didn't get to finish his statement because Harry shoved him against the wall and held him there with one hand while the other pointed his wand right at Draco's face. Draco was obviously surprised by Harry's attack but didn't try to fight him.

"What have you done, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "Tell me where she is!"

"Ease up, Potter!" Malfoy replied. "It wasn't me. But... I do know who did it."

"Who?"

"Pansy." Malfoy answered. "It wasn't her fault, Potter. The Dark Lord was going to kill her family. Go easy on her, ok?"

"I don't care about her right now." Harry replied. "All I care about is getting Daphne back safely. What else do you know?"

"Listen, you need to believe me when I tell you that I had no idea any of this was going to happen until Daphne was already gone." Malfoy began. "Pansy was upset and told be what had happened. And then, a few minutes ago, I got a package from my father. She's being held at my house, in the dungeons."

"Then you're going to take me there." Harry demanded.

"That's what he wanted, too. They're setting up a trap for you, Potter." Malfoy explained. He then pulled a letter with 'Harry' written in feminine hand writing on the front. "This is a portkey. I was supposed to give it to you tomorrow afternoon and tell you it would take you to where Daphne is being held. As you can tell, I'm not following the plan."

"What are you up to, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "What game are you playing?"

"I am trying to help you, Potter." Malfoy replied. "With my help you are going to avoid the trap and be able to save your girlfriend."

"Why are you doing this?" Harry asked, but then he remembered something he had not thought about for some time. He finally let Draco go and lowered his wand, much to Draco's relief. "It's the life debt, isn't it? You're obligated to help me."

"That's partly the reason." Malfoy agreed. "But it's not all of it. I want you to win, and I think you will. I know what kind of world the Dark Lord will create if he wins the war, and quite frankly it's not a world I want to live in."

"Let's assume I believe you." Harry said. "How are you going to help me?"

"If you go tonight, they won't be expecting you." Malfoy commented. "Plus, my father seems to have forgotten he gave me some limited abilities to create portkeys into our home. I can make it so that the portkey takes you directly in to my room, not to where ever he had set this one up to put you. Plus this is a one person portkey, the best I can do is make it so you can take one other person with you. That's all I can tell you."

"Ok." Harry said. "Change the portkey."

Draco nodded and pulled out his wand while Harry watched his every movement, still unsure if he could trust Draco. The Slytherin slowly pulled his wand out of his pocket and began to concentrate before touching the tip of his wand to the letter and saying "Portus." The letter briefly flashed before turning back to normal. Draco held it out to his former rival and Harry carefully took it and began to inspect it.

"When you're ready, the password is 'rescue'." Draco explained. "Good luck, Potter."

Harry nodded but said nothing else while Draco turned and walked off. Harry stared at the portkey in his hand and wondered if he could really believe anything Draco had told him. In the end he know he would have to assume Draco was being honest because it was the only clue he had as to where Daphne was. The only question was who would he take with him to rescue her, but even that was obvious. Daniel Greengrass would never forgive him if he didn't give him the chance to save his daughter.

* * *

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway and into Daphne's cell where she looked towards the door and wondered who was coming, and what they wanted. Soon the footsteps stopped and was replaced with the sound of the lock on her door being opened. When the cell door finally swung open she saw a tall, thin man whom she didn't recognize walk in. Once inside the man closed the door behind him set a glass in front of Daphne. She took it and looked inside to find that the liquid appeared to be water but there was no way for her to be sure.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Water, you moron." the man replied. "When we do eventually get around to killing you it's not going to be by poisoning, you can count on that."

"Who are you?" Daphne demanded to know.

"The name's Jugson." he answered. "Don't move, I'm going to check your chains."

Daphne nodded and Jugson walked over to where she was sitting on the ground. One by one he pulled on the chains connected to her arms and legs to make sure they were still attached. The last one he checked was one connected to her leg, and when he did Daphne saw her chance and attempted to pull Jugson's wand out of his hand. She pulled with all her strength, but Jugson was simply too strong. In retaliation Jugson slapped Daphne across the face hard enough to knock her to the ground with a bright red mark on her cheek.

"You really are a dumb bitch aren't you?" Jugson laughed. "And here I was going to be nice to you. Try and make the last few hours of your life bearable. There's no escape from here little girl. Oh I know, Harry Potter is going to come save you right?"

"He will." Daphne said confidently.

"He'll die trying, exactly what the Dark Lord wants." Jugson disagreed. "It'd be easier if you just accepted that."

Daphne angrily threw the glass of water at Jugson in response. It harmlessly flew over his shoulder and smashed against the hard cell wall. This time Jugson did not laugh at her resistance but instead drew his wand and yelled "Crucio!". The torture curse struck Daphne square in the chest and caused her to scream in pain. Jugson held it for a few seconds before finally stopping and putting the wand back in his pocket.

"I wasn't supposed to do that." Jugson said. "The Dark Lord wants you healthy and whole for when Potter comes. That way you can see him beg for death at the hands of the Dark Lord before you die too. We'll just have to make that our little secret, won't we?"

Daphne bit her lip and tried not to give him the pleasure of seeing how much she was still hurting from the Cruciatus. Jugson shrugged at her silence before leaving the room and Daphne alone again. Only when she was sure that he was gone did Daphne show any sign of how much pain she was in. As she sat and waited for the pain to subside she hoped that Harry would come for her soon.

* * *

Harry didn't think he had ever seen anyone as angry as Daniel Greengrass was when he found out what had happened to his daughter. Harry understood it though, he was feeling the same thing. He had used Dumbledore's floo to go straight to the Greengrass's home and explain the situation in person. Each detail seemed to make him angrier and angrier, but when Harry's story was done Daniel sat down and attempted to calm himself. He did not believe that going into a battle in a rage was a good idea.

"Do you think we can trust Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked. The issue had been bothering him ever since their conversation ended. He wanted to believe that Malfoy was being honest because it was his best chance to save Daphne, but even so he and Draco had been rivals for so long that it was hard to see him as anything else.

"His story makes sense." Daniel said. "By getting you to walk into an ambush tomorrow he would win even if you were able to survive because you wouldn't be at Hogwarts trying to stop him. But I agree, it is strange for Draco to so obviously go against his father."

"Maybe he's changed more than I thought." Harry suggested with a shrug. "But I'll wait to make a decision on that until we can make sure he isn't just setting us up."

"Let's go." Daniel said. "It's been a very long time, but I've been inside the Malfoy house before. I should be able to point us in the right direction. Are you ready?"

"Right." Harry replied, holding the portkey out so Daniel could grab on to it. When they were both touching the portkey Daniel nodded and Harry said "Rescue."

Instantly the portkey activated and they found themselves spinning through a magical whirlwind. Harry had never grown to like travel by portkey and he was especially unhappy with it now because he knew that there would be a moment right after they arrived when they would both be vulnerable. Finally the spinning began to slow and Harry felt himself being hurled towards the ground. He hit and rolled forward before leaping to his feet with his wand in hand only to find that there was no one on the other side waiting for them. Daniel landed without problem moments after he did.

Harry had no problem believing the room they had arrived in belonged to Draco. Almost everything was either black, silver, or green. A few Quidditch posters supporting the Falmouth Falcons hung on the walls, but oddly there were no photographs of Draco with friends or family in the room. The one window was covered by a thick black curtain and let in very little light.

"Where to?" Harry asked.

"The bedrooms are all on the second floor." Daniel explained. "I've never been in this part of the house, guests are rarely invited up here. But out that door is probably the main hallway which should lead to the ground floor. The door to the basement, where the dungeons are located, is through a door in Lucius' office. We have no idea what we're going to face in here, just promise me you'll save Daphne if I can't."

"Of course." Harry replied. "But we're all going to be fine."

Daniel nodded in agreement before walking to the door and slowly opening it. Harry could only see Daniel looking both ways before he quickly closed the door. Daniel motioned for Harry to follow him before opening the door and firing off a red spell that struck a Death Eater walking through the hallway in the back, dropping him as soon as it hit. As the passed him Harry noticed that the man was merely stunned. Daniel seemed to be expecting his question.

"We have to be quiet." Daniel whispered. "Can't let them know we're here before we're ready."

Harry agreed with his point and silently disillusioned the stunned man so no one would see him. They then walked to the end of the hallway where Harry looked around the corner, careful not to be noticed. The room he saw appeared to be a living room full of expensive looking furniture and decorations. There were two Death Eaters there, completely unaware of Harry and Daniel's presence, discussing how boring their current assignment was. Harry pulled his head back and held up two fingers. Daniel nodded and silently mouthed the words "On three. One. Two. Three."

At the count of three Harry and Daniel stepped out of the hallway and silently fired off a pair of stunners which knocked both Death Eaters out before they could even react to the sudden attack. Harry smiled and gave Daniel a thumbs up before disillusioning the men like he had done with the other Death Eater. Together they searched the rest of the second floor but found it to be empty of additional Death Eaters. Harry was a little surprised by how few guards were in the house but assumed it was because Voldemort never expected him to learn where Daphne was being held this soon.

Downstairs they found a group of five Death Eaters eating dinner in the kitchen. They had not passed any others on their trek through the first floor so believed it to be likely that this group was everyone stationed there. Harry was ready to go when Daniel pulled him back so they could talk.

"No need to hold back anymore." Daniel whispered. "Just take them out."

Harry nodded in agreement and led the way back to the entrance to the kitchen. He was first through, casting a powerful wide arcing slicing curse which managed to decapitate one man, cut another completely in half, and cut another Death Eater's legs off at the knee. Daniel was right behind him with a strong blasting curse that caught another man right in the face resulting in a gruesome explosion of blood and bone. While Harry mercifully finished off the Death Eater with no legs, Daniel turned his attention to the last remaining Death Eater still capable of putting up a fight. He even managed to get his wand out and point it towards them before taking a piercing hex through the heart that dropped him to the floor.

"I don't recognize any of these guys." Harry said. "Who do you think they were?"

"New recruits mostly." Daniel speculated. "It does make me wonder though, if Voldemort's best Death Eaters aren't here where are they? And what are they doing?"

They turned and walked out of the kitchen with Daniel leading the way to the dungeons. It went without problem until they passed the room leading to the main entrance of the house when out of a darkened corner they heard someone yell "Avada Kedavra!" They both instinctively dropped to the ground and the killing curse flew harmlessly over their heads. Whoever cast the spell did not seem to be disappointed however, they simply laughed crazily. When they made it back to their feet, wands ready to strike, they saw Gabriel Greengrass walking towards them.

"I'll do better next time, Daniel!" Gabriel promised. "You're early. How did that happen, I wonder? Oh well, it just means we've had to move the execution up a little. In fact I gave the order as soon as I realized you were here. Poor little Daphne should already be dead."

"Go find her, Harry! You know where to go!" Daniel commanded. "And leave him to me."

Harry didn't waste time responding, he simply ran towards the office they had been heading to. The door to the dungeons would have normally been hidden, but luckily someone had left it open in a rush to get down there. Harry sprinted through the door and into a long hallway full of cells. He checked in each one he passed, but none of the first few he looked in was occupied. Then a feminine scream at the very end of the hallway let him know exactly where his girlfriend was being held.

Meanwhile Daniel and his brother Gabriel were locked in a fierce duel. By all indications they seemed to be evenly matched. Each cast powerful spells towards the other, but in every case they were either shielded against or avoided. The room in which they were fighting was quickly being destroyed by their ferocious battle. Finally Daniel spotted an opportunity and summoned a rug out from under his brother's feet and sending the man crashing to the ground. Before he could move Daniel had cast another summoning charm which tipped over a bookcase and caused it to smash down on top of Gabriel who was now pinned to the floor an unable to move. The only part sticking out from under the bookcase was his head.

"Lucky, brother, very lucky." Gabriel said angrily. "Just like always. You've never deserved anything you have. It should have all been mine."

"You're a fool." Daniel replied.

"You're not really going to kill me." Gabriel claimed. "What would father say?"

"We'll never know, because you killed him." Daniel answered. "Avada Kedavra."

In the moment before the spell hit him and ended his life, Gabriel Greengrass screamed in rage at his defeat. His last thought was the hope that his Lord would avenge him and crush their enemies. A second later it was all over, and Daniel stood over his lifeless brother and shook his head at how the man's life had been wasted. His thoughts were quickly set aside as he remembered that his daughter was still unaccounted for. He immediately ran to follow Harry and prayed that she was still alive and ok.

After hearing her scream Harry had run towards the end of the hallway and noticed that the very last door was open. When he rushed inside he saw that Daphne was chained to the wall with a large bruise on her face, but otherwise appeared to be ok. She was crying and screaming at the other person in the room, a tall Death Eater who seemed to be enjoying his victim's fear. Harry did not recognize him, but the Death Eater was in fact Jugson. His wand was pointed at Daphne and looked as if he was preparing to cast a spell. He was able to get the first syllable of "Avada Kedavra" out of his mouth before Harry acted.

In his emotional state the magic seemed to flow through Harry like never before. It was almost as if he did not even actually need to cast spells but instead to simply command the magic to do what he wanted it to. Jugson's wand snapped in half in his hand a split second before his body was thrown through the air and crashed against the hard cell wall. The impact broke numerous bones, a fact that would not matter just seconds later. Jugson shrieked in pain as Harry summoned the man's still beating heart from his chest, and he lived just long enough to see it burst into flames before his world went black and he knew no more.

With another flick of his wand the chains fell off of Daphne's arms and legs and Harry rushed over to her. They slumped to the ground where Harry held her and tried to comfort her as she cried. A minute later Daniel Greengrass ran through the door with his wand out ready for a fight only to see his daughter crying on Harry's shoulder. His wand lowered and his face relaxed as the relief of knowing his daughter was alive rushed through him. Taking a seat on the ground next to Daphne he wrapped his arm around both teens and told them how glad he was to see both of them still alive.

* * *

Author's Note:

See, I didn't make you wait long after last chapter's "cliffhanger" ending now did I? And some of you had been wondering if I was ever going to mention Draco's life debt, believe me I had not forgotten. Hope you're enjoying the story and thanks for reading!

Updated: To those asking why I ended it there, sorry I guess I should have made it more clear that everyone in the house was either dead or incapacitated. Yes, the next chapter will start with them safely out of the Malfoy house.


	49. Chapter 49

As the Order of the Phoenix prepared for their coming battle with Voldemort and his army Dumbledore's office had become their new base of operations. Mad Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Sirius Black were standing around a table on which held a model of Hogwarts and the surrounding areas and were arguing over how to position their own forces. Thanks to Snape's reports and their own intelligence sources they had a fairly good idea of what they were up against, however they knew that Voldemort was bound to surprise them with something.

"They say he needs to be close to Hogwarts for the ritual to work." Moody commented, pointing over at the other group consisting of Snape, McGonagall, and Hermione who were still researching the ritual. "Within a few hundred feet at most, but he also won't want to be inside the castle. If I were him, I would set up camp here while attacking here and here."

"But that's too close to the castle!" Sirius argued. "He's going to want to be as far away as possible to give himself more defensive depth. This is a better location."

They continued to try and convince the other which spot was more likely to be Voldemort's choice of location to attempt the ritual with Kingsley occasionally adding his thoughts while several other conversations went on around them. A secret door connected Dumbledore's office to a large room which had been turned into an area for them to rest. As the hours passed more and more Order members arrived and tried to prepare themselves for what lay ahead.

Dumbledore sat watching the excitement around him and contemplated his own role in the coming battle. He knew it would be foolish for him to attempt to face Voldemort on his own again, especially now that he was no longer the master of the Elder Wand. Even so he was still likely the third most powerful wizard and perhaps more importantly an asset Voldemort did not expect to have to deal with. He only hoped it would be enough to negate Voldemort's numerical advantage.

The old wizard's glance once again returned to the floo. Hours ago Harry had left through that very floo after telling the others in the office that Daphne Greengrass had been kidnapped and he was going to save her. They had attempted to persuade him to wait for help but Harry had not even slowed down. There had been no sign of him since, although it had been noticed that Daniel Greengrass was also missing. Dumbledore had briefly been angry that Harry had not waited, but then he remembered that he had been the one to encourage Harry to take a stronger leadership role in the first place and it was no longer his job to criticize. He only hoped that Harry would be careful.

As he thought that the floo once again roared to life as its orange flames turned green. Seconds later Harry and Daphne stepped through the floo with Daniel Greengrass right behind them. Other than a large bruise on Daphne's face none of them appeared to be injured. Seeing them, Hermione immediately ran over to the floo and enveloped her two friends in a hug.

"You're safe!" Hermione cried happily. "We were so worried!"

"I'm just so glad to be back." Daphne said.

"Everything went fine, Hermione." Harry assured her before turning towards Professor Dumbledore. "Daphne needs to see Madame Pomfrey, she's been subjected to the Cruciatus curse."

"I will send for her at once." Dumbledore replied. He motioned towards one of the paintings on the wall and it's occupant nodded and walked out of the frame, presumably to a picture in the infirmary where Madame Pomfrey was. "What happened?"

"Voldemort forced Pansy Parkinson to kidnap Daphne and send her to the Malfoy's house. I only knew that much because Draco warned me. I told Hermione and the others that much before I left." Harry explained. "Voldemort's plan was to try and get me out of the way tomorrow so I couldn't be here. I don't imagine he is going to be very happy when he figures out what happened."

"Very well. It is good to see all of you again. As for Ms Parkinson, Professor Snape has moved her to another part of the castle untill we decide what punishment, if any, she will face. Your room, Ms Greengrass, will be safe if you wish to retire there for the night." Dumbledore said. "Harry, I wish I could tell you to take all the time you needed to care for Daphne, but unfortunately time is one resource we have precious little of. Tonight will be very busy."

"I know." Harry agreed. "I'll be here."

Dumbledore nodded and Harry led Daphne off to the other room where there was a bed she could rest on while they waited. Harry knew what kind of pain she must still be in, having experienced the Cruciatus quite a few times himself. The potions that Madame Pomfrey was bringing would help, but in the end only time would heal it completely. After a few minutes of waiting Madame Pomfrey arrived, provided Daphne with the appropriate potions and ordered he to bed.

"Would you rather sleep here?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure if Daphne would be opposed to sleeping in the room where Pansy had attacked her the day before.

"No. I want to go to my room." Daphne replied. "Pansy won't be there and from the sounds of it Draco is on our side now. Besides, my wand is there and I hate being without it."

"Alright." Harry agreed. "But I am going to put up some wards around your room. It'll make me feel better."

Daphne hugged Harry back, understanding that he was probably upset with himself that he had not been around to prevent her kidnapping. It wasn't his fault, of course, but it was her boyfriend's nature to feel responsible for his friends and loved ones well being.

Together they left Dumbledore's office and walked to the Slytherin dorms. Harry suspected that one of the potions Madame Pomfrey had given Daphne had been a sleeping potion because her movements were becoming sluggish as the minutes passed. By the time they entered the dorm he had an arm around her helping her walk.

"Daphne!" a voice called out as they stepped through the door. A very worried Astoria Greengrass ran across the room and hugged her older sister. "No one would tell me what happened to you, but the rumors were that Pansy helped kidnap you!"

Harry noticed that Draco Malfoy had heard the commotion and walked out of his room to see what was going on. When he saw that Harry had indeed been able to rescue Daphne he did not smile but simply nodded as if he expected it.

"It's true." Daphne agreed. "Dad and Harry saved me. Draco told Harry where I was."

"You helped?" Astoria asked, turning towards Draco. At his nod of agreement she ran over to him and kissed him on the cheek, causing the older Slytherin to look very surprised. "Thank you!"

"It was no problem." Draco replied uncertainly. Astoria smiled and ran back to her older sister while Draco turned and went back to his room, leaving the others alone. Harry watched his former rival and, not for the first time, was surprised at how things turned out. Even now Draco's attitude was hard for him to understand and it was possible he would never know what caused him to turn against his father, but for now he was just thankful for the help Draco had provided.

"Astoria, let's help her to her room." Harry said. The younger Greengrass sister opened the door for Harry as he carried Daphne inside and set her down on the bed. Daphne was already asleep before her head even hit the pillow. The sleeping potions she had taken were evidently quite powerful. But, Harry knew, she would need the rest. The next day was going to be tough for all of them.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy knew something was very, very wrong the moment he stepped through his front door. As one of the Death Eaters with the most knowledge of Lord Voldemort's plans for the following day he had many responsibilities to take care of and so had not been at the house all day. Jugson and Gabriel Greengrass had been left in charge of watching the prisoner, more than enough given the fact that no one knew where she was being kept.

The first thing he noticed when he walked in was that his foyer and the attached sitting room had nearly been destroyed. As he walked through the chaos that had recently been a well kept house he wondered who could have caused this and if they were still there. He clutched his wand in front of him and scanned the area but neither heard nor saw anything to indicate anyone was around. That is when he saw the dead body of Gabriel Greengrass crushed underneath a bookcase. He amended his earlier thought: there was no sign of anyone still alive in the house.

Lucius considered walking upstairs but decided there was no point at the moment. He had ordered Narcissa to leave the house, not foolish enough to let his family near a planned ambush. Lucius continued walking and checking on the rest of his home. As he neared the kitchen he could not help but notice the foul smell of blood and death and was therefore not surprised to see five dead bodies there. From the looks of it they had died quickly but horrifically. The sight and smell made even his stomach turn a little.

Knowing the intruders must have come for the prisoner, Lucius' next stop was his private dungeon. As he expected, the girl was gone and one of her keepers was dead in her cell. He swore bitterly at the situation. His master would be very angry at this failure. Lucius had no idea how important this part was to the Dark Lord's overall plans, he only hoped that it was not a vital piece. If it were his chances for surviving his next meeting with the Dark Lord were slim to none.

'How could this have happened?' he wondered. It was possible, but very unlikely, that Daphne Greengrass had somehow broken free of her chains, stolen a wand, and killed her guards. But the girl was not known to be especially powerful and it was much more likely that there had been more than one person attacking the Death Eaters here. That would mean that someone learned where the girl was being held and found a way to get past his wards and into his home. There was only one way that could have happened: Draco must have told them.

It didn't make any sense, Lucius thought. He had considered the life debt that his son owed Potter and was confident that it would not stop him from playing his part in their plan. After all he would not be lying to Potter who would already know that he was walking into a trap. If it wasn't the life debt though, that meant that his son had chosen of his own free will to defy him and and side with his enemies. But why would Draco do that? His son hated Potter and had for years. There must be something he wasn't aware of that would make sense of all this, he assured himself.

"He better have a good explanation." Lucius muttered. "Or he will pay."

Lucius left the house and apparated away to report the bad news to Lord Voldemort. He could only hope his master was in a merciful mood.

* * *

"About time, Potter." Professor Snape said as Harry walked back into Dumbledore's office, although without the malice that his greetings for Harry usually held. He had never particularly liked Harry but his views on the child of his childhood rival and love had begun to improve. Plus the fact that Harry had saved one of his Slytherins did not hurt.

"Hi everyone." Harry said as he took a seat at the table around the journal which held the details of the ritual. Several other books had been laid out on the table, apparently for reference. "How bad is it?"

"Very bad, Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall replied. "If Voldemort is allowed to complete this ritual our world and way of life will be destroyed."

"What'll happen if he does finish it?" Harry asked.

"At best creatures which can only be described as demons will pour through the temporarily opened portal between our worlds and attempt to destroy everything in their path, Voldemort included." Hermione commented.

"Really? That's the best case scenario?" Harry asked in shock. "And what's the worst case scenario?"

"The demons will not be wild, but under Voldemort's control." Professor McGonagall replied. "And the portal itself will remain open for as long as Voldemort wishes for it to."

"Is there any good news?" Harry wondered.

"Perhaps." Professor Snape said. "The ritual is fairly simple, although it requires massive amounts of magical power, but it requires the production of a potion containing a variety of rare ingredients. It will, unfortunately, only take the Dark Lord between twenty and thirty minutes to complete."

"So we'll have some time to disrupt his plans. Great." Harry noted happily. Then he noticed that no one else shared his optimistic outlook. "There's something else isn't there?"

"Harry, Voldemort has to be stopped before he finishes the potion." Hermione explained. "Once he starts the ritual only he will have the ability to end it. Not even killing him is enough to stop the ritual once it has been started. Unless he chooses to stop the ritual there are only two possible outcomes. First, it could end with him successfully opening the dimensional portal. Otherwise, either because he doesn't finish it or just can't because he is dead or not strong enough, the ritual will fail very violently."

"What do you mean by violently?" Harry asked, not liking where this conversation was headed.

"There will be an explosion." Professor Snape said. "The explosion will feed on and consume the magic of its surroundings. Due to the massive amounts of magic contained in Hogwarts the resulting explosion would be incredibly large."

"How large?"

"Harry, you've heard of atomic bombs right?" Hermione asked. When Harry nodded yes she continued. "By my calculations, and I admit this is a rough estimate, the explosion would be about 10,000 times more powerful than the bombs used at the end of World War II. Hogwarts, along with everything and everyone for perhaps 100 miles from here, will be destroyed. But again, it's just an estimate. It might not be quite that bad, but I am fairly certain everyone in Hogwarts will die if that happens."

"So if I can't stop Voldemort from starting the ritual something very bad is going to happen no matter what I do?" Harry asked.

"Unless you could somehow convince him to stop it on his own, no I can't think of anything." Hermione answered sadly. She and the others had been searching for a better option but so far had not been able to find anything useful. Their only hope was to stop Voldemort while he was brewing the potion. Otherwise they would have to begin evacuating the area immediately because no matter what the outcome of the ritual was they would not want to be anywhere near Hogwarts.

"Alright." Harry said finally, pulling the journal towards himself. "Let me read this then. Maybe a new set of eyes will see something different."

An hour later he had read, reread, and reread again everything Canweard the Wise had to say about the ritual but he had not been able to find anything that the others had not already thought of. Indeed the few ideas he did have had already been discussed and dismissed for various reasons. In the end he had no choice but to unhappily agree with their assessment of the situation. Having done so he left them to continue their discussions while he tried to get a better understanding of how the rest of the battle would go and what everyone would be doing.

For all of the members of the Order of the Phoenix the hours seemed to pass much too quickly, and far before any of them were ready the light began streaming in through the windows from the sun rising in the eastern sky. A new day had begun at Hogwarts, and unless they were able to overcome the odds it was possible that this would be its last sunrise. Professor Snape was one of those thoughtfully observing the sunrise as he considered his own chances for living through the day. His time as a double agent would almost definitely end today. As those thoughts crossed his mind a sharp pain shot through his left arm. Clutching it, he glanced towards Dumbledore who had seen his reaction. The Headmaster motioned for him to leave, understanding the reasoning behind the reaction and knowing that Snape would help them however he could. Snape silently left the room and a few minutes later was out of the castle completely and headed back to Lord Voldemort.

* * *

While the Order of the Phoenix was nervously waiting and watching for the first sign of trouble the morning began quietly for the rest of the wizarding world. People woke up, had breakfast, and went to work just as they had every other day completely unaware that this one would be any different. Diagon Alley was full of witches and wizards doing their last minute Christmas shopping while their children happily enjoyed the break from school.

Then, just before noon, everything changed suddenly. The Death Eaters and their foreign allies began coordinated attacks on the homes of every Ministry official that had opposed them. Their goal was not to capture or even kill these targets, but instead to create as much chaos and confusion as they could. After those targets had been his they turned their attention to the homes of the Aurors, with similar intentions.

An hour after the attacks began disorder had been effectively spread throughout both the Ministry and the Auror department. Minister of Magic Amelia Bones desperately tried to rally her forces, recognizing that these attacks were only designed to prevent her from sending help to Hogwarts when Lord Voldemort eventually attacked it, but with little success. In all under half of her Aurors answered her call to gather at the Ministry of Magic, the rest ignored the order to stay with their frightened families. The true battle had not even begun and yet Voldemort had already landed the first serious blow.

* * *

The doors to the Great Hall slammed open and Professor Snape hurried through, not slowing to acknowledge the strange looks his behavior was producing. He headed straight for Professor Dumbledore's office and when he finally arrived he announced his news loudly and without warning:

"The Dark Lord will be here in a half hour!"

Snape's announcement was not met with chaos or screams but instead quiet nods and silent acceptance. Professor Dumbledore ushered Snape in and began quietly talking with him while the others continued their work with a greater sense of urgency than before. The time had come for them to begin moving into the places and wait for things to begin.

Moody, Sirius, and Shacklebolt had worked the entire night to come up with a strategy to defend Hogwarts and give them a chance to stop Voldemort and felt the one they had finally produced was a good one. The only thing left to do was put it in to place. Harry's place was with Hagrid and Sirius in Hagrid's hut. This was not far from where they expected Voldemort to perform the ritual or the front entrance to the castle.

"How 'bout some tea there Harry?" Hagrid offered as they waited.

"Start a pot, Hagrid." Sirius replied. "Might do us all some good."

Harry nodded from his spot at the window, looking for any sign of movement in the Forbidden Forest. But so far nothing was happening, at least not that he could see. As he watched Sirius came and sat beside him.

"We're going to win today, Harry. I know it." Sirius said. "I want you to know how proud of you I am. And how proud your parents would be. If I don't make it through today, I just wanted you to know that and never doubt it."

"Quit talking like that, Sirius." Harry replied. "We're both going to make it. You'll see."

Sirius shrugged and handed Harry a cup of tea. Harry was able to take one sip before something new in the sky caught his attention.

"Look, over there." Harry pointed. "Smoke."

Hagrid and Sirius looked out the window and saw that Harry was indeed right. Smoke was billowing out of the far end of the Forbidden Forest, but other than that there was no change visible.

"Why would Voldemort start a fire in the Forbidden Forest?" Harry asked.

"Oh no. Oh this is not good." Hagrid said. "This is no good at all."

"What is Hagrid?" Sirius asked. "What's wrong?"

"That is the part of the forest Aragog and his children live in." Hagrid replied. "They hate fire. It's going to drive them all towards the castle."

"Hagrid, who or what is Aragog?" Sirius demanded to know.

"He's an acromantula." Harry answered. "He's huge, And he's not alone. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of smaller acromantulas with him. Hagrid, can you convince him not to attack?"

"Oh I don't think so, Harry." Hagrid replied. "They're under attack and won't bother to figure out which group of wizards it is attacking them."

"How long until the reach the castle?" Harry asked.

"Five minutes maybe." Hagrid said. "Well we knew there were going to be surprises. Looks like this is the first one."

"Let's get ready." Sirius said before downing the rest of his tea and walking out the door, wand in hand and ready to fight. Harry smirked at his godfather's attitude and followed him out the door.

* * *

"Attention all students!" Professor Dumbledore's voice echoed throughout the castle, surprising everyone who had believed the old Headmaster to be sick or dying. "You are to return to your dorms at once and remain there until further notice! Prefects, see that this is done immediately!"

Most people obeyed the order, but there were a few notable exceptions.

Fred and George Weasley had been hard at work on a new invention all night and within the past few hours had tested it and begun replicating it dozens of times over. When they heard Dumbledore's voice they smiled knowingly at each other, packed up their work, and set out to the part of the castle they had already picked out which they believed would make the best use of their work. If there was going to be a fight today, they were going to be a part of it.

Daphne and Neville had been warned of what was coming and were waiting in the Room of Requirement for the battle to begin. They had programmed the room to provide them with all of the information possible about what was going on in and around the castle. If Harry needed help they would be some of the first to know.

Draco Malfoy was on his way out of the Slytherin dorms when he heard the announcement. 'Right on time...' he thought to himself as he clutched a letter he had received only a few minutes earlier in his hand. It had told him this, or something like, it would take place at about this time. He had his own plans to see to and was not about to let an announcement to return to his dorm room stop him. What he would do today would in large part determine the path the rest of his life would take.

The rest of the students filed into their respective dorms and waited while they nervously discussed what possible reason there could be for their confinement. The idea that the castle was under attack was a common suggestion, and unfortunately also the one that would prove to be true.

Outside the fire in the Forbidden Forest continued to rage and spread. It was quickly becoming clear to all those watching that something very bad was making its way through the forest and towards the castle. The Order of the Phoenix had sent word to the Ministry that their help was needed immediately and Aurors had begun to pour into the castle through the available floo connections. But for now the castle appeared calm from the outside, not giving Voldemort any sign that they knew what he was up to.

A few minutes after the fire had first been spotted the first few acromantulas ran out of the forest headed straight for the castle. Their angry squeaking noises left no confusion that they were on the warpath. At the same time on the opposite side of the castle dozens upon dozens of inferii began making their way out of another part of the Forbidden Forest also headed towards the castle. The wizard controlling these animated corpses was not visible, but everyone had a good idea of who it was.

Suddenly Aragog, the largest and oldest of all the acromantulas, came crashing out of the forest sprinting towards the castle. The massive spider smashed into the walls of the castle and roared. Harry fired the first shot, a fire spell that burnt a few dozen of Aragog's children to a crisp. The Battle of Hogwarts had officially begun.

* * *

Author's Note:

Short wait on this one, mostly because I've had a good idea of how this part of the story was going to go for some time. It was a bit shorter than normal, but don't worry cause the next chapter will be posted soon. Only a few chapters left now, hope you all enjoy it!


	50. Chapter 50

Harry and Sirius stood back to back, each casting an endless stream of fire out of their wands which killed every acromantula they touched. But even so the acromantulas kept coming. Harry realized that his earlier estimates that there were only hundreds or thousands of them had been way off, there were in fact tens of thousands of acromantulas. Closer to the castle Hagrid was attempting to convince Aragog to turn away, but with no success. Eventually the massive acromantula had attacked its former owner and now Hagrid was forced to fight back. Harry even thought he had seen Hagrid crying about the situation while he fought his former pet.

On the other side of the castle Professor Flitwick, Daniel Greengrass, and Kingsley Shacklebolt were at the top of the castle walls firing on the inferii below. The undead corpses had made it to the walls and were alternately trying to break through them and climb over them. Part of their plan was to hold back the majority of their forces until they could attack Voldemort and his Death Eaters in one massive attack. Mad Eye Moody and Professor Dumbledore watched the ongoing skirmishes from the window of Dumbledore's office and discussed when to send in more people.

"Hagrid needs help." Dumbledore said. "Send someone now."

"Right!" Moody agreed. "Tonks! Get down their and give Hagrid a hand."

"Aye, aye, captain." Tonks replied with a mocking salute. "Wish me luck." Secretly she was quite nervous about the battle, but she wasn't going to back out now. Not when so much was on the line. She hurried through the now empty hallways and out a side door that led to a parapet overlooking the ongoing battle with the acromantulas. Harry, she saw, had somehow created a magical golem made entirely of fire which was smashing its way through the giant spiders. It was an incredible piece of magic, she thought, and one she wasn't even close to being capable of. That thought made her smile, perhaps their chances were better than she had thought. Hagrid meanwhile was still struggling against the largest acromantula.

"Reducto!" Tonks yelled. The spell streaked from her wand and struck Aragog in one of his eight massive legs, breaking it off at the joint. The spider roared in pain before turning to face her, and once it found its target ran towards the castle and began attempting to climb the wall. Fully stretched out Aragog could almost reach Tonks' position and pull itself up, but it had ignored Hagrid in doing so and now the half giant was right behind Aragog holding an enormous club. With one powerful swipe Aragog's two back legs were knocked out from under it causing the magical spider to crash to the ground.

"Conjucto!" Tonks said. The Conjuctivitis curse hit Aragog in a couple of its eight eyes, causing them to swell painfully. But that did not seem to slow the acromantula down very much. Back on the ground Hagrid continued to pound Aragog with his club and was caught off guard when it powerfully kicked him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. The other acromantulas, seeing that Hagrid was vulnerable rushed to attack him while he was still down. Tonks tried to pick them off before they could get to Hagrid but she couldn't stop all of them. Three of the creatures had crawled on Hagrid before he could get up and were viciously biting and clawing at him.

Luckily for Hagrid, Harry's fire golem picked that moment to attack Aragog. The magical figure was strong enough to wrestle Aragog to the ground, burning the acromantula where ever it touched. Aragog's children heard their parent's screams and quickly dropped what they were doing to come to help. Each acromantula that attacked the golem caught fire and died, but they kept attacking. Hagrid was finally able to make it back to his feet and check his wounds. He had been bitten numerous times but was certain he would be alright, acromantula venom did not effect half-giants as it did normal wizards.

Harry and Sirius, now free to focus on Aragog, began firing spell after spell at the giant beast. Despite its thick, magic resistant exoskeleton not even Aragog could withstand this attack and soon the great creature was dead. Its children, enraged by Aragog's death spread out and began attacking anyone and anything in sight. While Harry and the others battled the acromantulas a few of them managed to make it over the walls and into the castle. Harry decided not to follow them, there were after all plenty of people in the castle capable of dealing with them.

Meanwhile the other group was having trouble keeping the inferii at bay. There were so many of them and so much of the castle to cover that it was nearly impossible for three people to guard it all. They all hoped that Dumbledore would send more people to help and were quite surprised when help finally did show up, but not in the form of Aurors or other members of the Order of the Phoenix. Instead the Weasley twins ran onto the castle wall carrying bags over their shoulders. They looked over the wall and actually looked happy with what they saw.

"What are you two doing here?" Shacklebolt yelled between spells. "Get back in the castle!"

"Sorry sir, but I thought you might like some help." George replied.

"What my genius brother is trying to say is that we might have something you can use." Fred explained.

"Sorry boys but canary creams and skiving snackboxes aren't going to help us here." Professor Flitwick replied. "Incendio!"

"You hear that, Fred?" George asked in an amazed tone. "Professor Flitwick actually knows our products. Always nice to meet a fan."

"Right-o George." Fred agreed. "But I think we're going to have to show him what we've done."

George nodded and they both reached into their bag and pulled out matching glass orbs. Inside the small spheres orange and clear liquid seemed to swirl around but never actually mix. Together they counted to three and hurled the orbs over the wall. When they hit the ground they exploded and covered everything within a fifteen foot radius in burning oil that the inferii tried but were unable to put out or rub off. Professor Flitwick stopped to watch in amazement as the Weasley twins threw another pair of the devices over the wall and into the crowd of inferii.

"We call them magical hand grenades!" George explained proudly. "Although that's really not the catchiest name we've ever come up with. We may have to change it."

"I told you I like Weasley's Balls of Fire!" Fred argued. "You'll come around. I know it!"

"Well done boys!" Professor Flitwick shouted. "Keep them coming!"

With the Weasley twins help they were able to keep the inferii off the walls and away from the castle. The battle so far had been a draw, but neither side had brought the bulk of their forces on to the battlefield. From the top of the castle Professor Dumbledore and Mad Eye Moody watched with small smiles on their faces. The addition of the Weasley twins and their wonderful inventions had been an unexpected surprise, but the results were certainly favorable. Dumbledore correctly assumed their participation was somehow due to Harry. He wondered what other surprised Harry might have in store for them.

* * *

Less than a mile away Lord Voldemort had assembled an enormous group of dark wizards who were waiting for their instructions. Of them, the foreign wizards were not truely loyal to him but were under the mistaken impression that supporting him here would be good for their own pureblood rebellions across the rest of Europe. They were fools, and would die in large numbers for their idiocy. But, if things went according to plan, they would take with them a large number of teachers, members of the Order of the Phoenix, and any Aurors that may be at the castle. All he really needed was time, and with their sacrifice he would have it. His Death Eaters had been warned to let their foreign counterparts handle the more dangerous parts of the battle, but he knew they too were itching to join in the fighting.

"My friends." Voldemort began. "Today will be a day that history will remember as the one in which the purebloods of Europe finally took back what was rightfully theirs. For too long our world has been polluted by mudbloods and other filth. They have even worked their way into our governments and set out to convince our society that they belong, but we know better. Britain will be but the first of many nations to overthrow their muggle loving rulers. Together we will retake our world, one nation at a time."

The assembled dark wizards cheered in response. Voldemort could not help but enjoy the fact that they were cheering for their own deaths. Oh yes, he planned on crushing other nations after he solidified his control over Great Britain, but it would not be for their benefit. Eventually they would realize this and he would be forced to destroy them as well.

"Make no mistake, Hogwarts is at all times well guarded. But without Albus Dumbledore the castle is more vulnerable than it has ever been." Voldemort continued. "Kill anyone who opposes you, however we do request that you refrain from slaughtering too many children. With Hogwarts in our possession the Ministry or Magic will fall within hours. By this time tomorrow our victory will be complete. You have all received your orders and know what to do. The attack begins... NOW!"

They cheered again before breaking off in to the pre-assigned groups. Each group had a different section of the castle it was tasked with taking, but he suspected that getting through the castle walls would be much easier than anyone suspected. That was because his spy, Severus Snape, would be opening the front door for them. And in the chaos he would be free to perform the ritual that would forever make him the most powerful wizard in the world.

Within minutes the groups began making their way to the castle. However one fact they were not aware of was that Albus Dumbledore was completely healthy and knew they were coming. From the window of his office he saw movement in the distance which he recognized as Lord Voldemort's main attack. It was almost time for his own forces to show themselves.

"Attention everyone!" Dumbledore announced. "Move into position. The time to fight is here."

* * *

Harry, Hagrid, Tonks, and Sirius had finally managed to kill every acromantula in sight and had been able to do so without any major harm coming to them. Even so it was obvious to Harry that the effort had tired the others much more than it had him. He supposed it was because his brutal training over the past few months had prepared him for this.

"What now, Harry?" Tonks asked, wiping sweat off her forehead.

"We move to the main entrance." Harry said. "And we wait for Voldemort to show up."

Together the four of them began the walk to the front entrance of Hogwarts, the one that they knew Voldemort expected Snape to open for them. When Hogwarts was built the four founders knew that it one day might come under attack and designed it to be able to repel one. One such feature was the ability of the Headmaster to magically seal all doors. No one was sure what it would take to open the doors once they were sealed and not even Voldemort wanted to have to find out. Snape, however, had been able to convince him that in his declining health Professor Dumbledore had put him in charge of the castle's defenses. A very fortunate event, or so Voldemort believed.

Harry and his friends stood in front of the door and waited. In the distance they could hear large groups of people getting closer and closer to the castle. Voldemort's forces were making no effort to be quiet or hide their numbers, in fact they believed that the size of there group would intimidate Hogwarts defenders and perhaps even cause them to flee. Soon Harry could not just hear them, but see them as well. There were, as expected, well over a hundred dark wizards in groups of about ten headed towards the castle with the bulk of them headed right towards them. The sight made even him feel nervous and he knew that his companions weren't feeling much better about it.

"Just hold still guys, you know the plan." Harry commanded. The others murmured their agreement and continued to watch their enemy's approach. Harry continued to scan the horizon until he saw a figure gliding above the others. Even from this distance there was no mistaking, Lord Voldemort was leading his army to Hogwarts. The Dark Lord had no need of a broom to achieve flight, a fact that he used to awe his enemies and supporters alike. As they neared the castle Voldemort's men did not attack but instead stopped and waited for their master to give them the signal to begin.

"Harry Potter, somehow I knew you'd be here." Voldemort said as he landed at the front of his army, nearest to Harry and the others. "And you brought with you not one, not two, but three others to help you. A worthless witch, a man who has truthfully never been the same after spending a decade in Azkaban, and a half-giant who was a poor wizard even before he got kicked out school. Really, I thought you could do better than this Harry."

"We could settle this one on one then." Harry offered. "It's going to come down to you versus me anyway, we both know it. Why not just skip to the end?"

"Because it's the journey that matters, Potter." Voldemort retorted. "Besides, you shouldn't be in such a rush to die."

"You won't get past me, Riddle." Harry promised. "None of you are going to get inside the castle."

"Ah, I can see why you might think that." Voldemort replied. "But I think I know something you don't. OPEN THE DOORS!"

On his command, the main entrance door opened and Severus Snape walked outside. What Voldemort wasn't aware of was that Harry expected this as well. Snape stepped past Harry and the others who did nothing to get in his way, but simply watched as the scene played out in front of them.

"Well done, Severus." Voldemort said. "Now, I believe you were saying that we would never make it inside weren't you Potter? Snape is, and always has been, loyal to me. You and Dumbledore were such fools to trust him."

"Actually Tom, you are the one who was mistaken." Professor Dumbledore announced as he walked out of the door and stood next to Snape and the others. Dumbledore was followed by dozens of Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix. Meanwhile the rest of their forces made their way onto the castle walls where they would be able to control the higher ground and strike from above.

"TRAITOR!" Voldemort roared angrily. "No matter, you will all die today. I still hold the advantage. And I have my own surprises bring to the party."

There was a loud shriek in the distance as he finished the statement, one that seemed to surprise everyone but Voldemort. People on both sides began to look around for its source. Harry heard Hagrid mutter "Uh oh..." after the noise which was definitely never a good sign. Then people began pointing up in the air. Harry looked as well and saw three large dragons flying towards the castle. Voldemort, after seeing how Harry won the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, realized that he could use his own Parseltongue abilities to convince dragons to do his bidding. All three of the dragons headed towards Hogwarts believed that their children were being held inside the castle when in fact they had been stolen by Voldemort so he could attempt to train them. As a result they were all very angry and willing to do whatever it took to break through the castle and recover their young.

"And... BEGIN." Voldemort laughed. At his signal his wizards began firing at the castle's defenders who responded with their own volley of spells. The scene quickly descended into chaos. Wizarding battles were almost never fought this way, and for good reason. It was simply impossible to be aware of what every opponent was doing and even the best wizards were vulnerable to an unseen attack. Harry and Dumbledore were forced to rally their troops and remind them of the plan and thankfully their efforts works. Within moments the Aurors and Order of the Phoenix were able to conjure a long stone wall that would protect them from most spells fired at their bodies. Their allies on top of the wall, meanwhile, were able to continue their attacks even when the Death Eaters copied the idea.

After a few half hearted attacks Voldemort left the battlefield flanked by a group of his best Death Eaters. Their destination was the Quidditch pitch, a nice clear area close enough for the ritual to work but far enough away that they would hopefully not be disturbed. Seeing this, Harry smiled, Voldemort had picked the spot they expected him to. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do about it at the moment, his presence was still needed on the battlefield.

"Harry!" Dumbledore shouted. "You have to take charge here. I will attempt to deal with the dragons."

"Get Hermione!" Harry advised. "I bet there is something she can do to help."

"A good suggestion." Dumbledore nodded. "Good luck, Harry."

Harry nodded and watched as Dumbledore apparated away, something that only the Headmaster of the school was capable of. When he was gone Harry turned back towards the fight which had somehow descended into trench warfare. This needed to end soon, he knew, so that he could stop Voldemort from beginning the ritual. Harry hoped an idea would come to him, but decided to fire everything he had at the enemy while he thought about it.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy had quietly slipped away from the battle shortly after it began and hopped on a broom he brought with him. Assuming his son listened to the instructions contained in the letter he had sent this morning, Draco should be waiting for him in the astronomy tower. There was some chance he would be spotted, Lucius knew, and to combat that he first flew away from the castle and then very high into the air. His goal was come at the astronomy tower from above instead of flying horizontally towards it.

Draco, as commanded, was indeed waiting in the astronomy tower. From this vantage point he could see almost all of the fighting going on below him. Even so it was not clear which side held the advantage this early into the battle. He did, however, know who he hoped would win and how he would help that to happen.

As he descended on his target Lucius's glance strayed towards the ongoing battle. So far the ones dying on both sides were those foolish enough not to take cover and let themselves be caught in a vulnerable position. They, he thought, deserved to die for their idiocy. With his focus elsewhere, Lucius never saw where the spell that hit his broom came from. The spell, whatever it had been, completely disabled the broom he was riding and sent him into a free fall. Luckily he was close to the astronomy tower and therefore the impact when he hit it did not kill him, but he did bounce off the roof and fell past where Draco was waiting for him.

Draco saw his father fall right in front of him and ran towards the edge of the tower to see where his fall had ended and if he was still ok. He saw that somehow Lucius had managed to catch himself on a ledge and was now hanging on to a pole for dear life. Looking up, Lucius sighed in relief when he saw his son's head appear above him.

"Draco!" Lucius called. "Help me. I'm hurt and I dropped my wand in the fall. Throw down a rope or something."

"I can't believe you survived that!" Draco said, clearly shocked at what he had just seen.

"You can be surprised later." Lucius answered angrily. "Just help me up!"

"That's not going to happen." Draco replied. "You see, I was the one who shot you down."

"What?" Lucius said, thinking he must have misheard what his son said.

"I've thought about this a lot recently." Draco explained. "And I've come to the conclusion that you have to die."

"How dare you!" Lucius screamed. "I knew it was you that told Potter where Greengrass was being held. Even if you kill me the Dark Lord will crush you for what you've done!"

"I admit it, that was me too." Draco agreed. "But you're wrong on one thing: Harry Potter is going to defeat the Dark Lord. I know, I didn't want to admit it at first either. But I've seen for myself how powerful he's become. It's just a matter of time before he brings You-Know-Who down."

"So you're not just a traitor, you're insane as well." Lucius replied. "Potter stands no chance."

"We'll see." Draco said. "You, of all people, should understand why this happening. What did you spend my entire life teaching me? What lesson did you drill into my head over and over since the day I was born? It's this: a Malfoy bows to no one. But that's not true, now is it? You grovel at your master's feet like a house elf. He brands you like cattle and you thank him for it. No father, I will never allow that to happen to me."

"So instead of serving the Dark Lord you'll bow down to a half-blood who doesn't even like you?" Lucius laughed. "I thought I raised you to be smarter than that."

"I will never be Potter's servant, nor will I ever have to bow to him." Draco disagreed. "He considers me an ally, not a slave. And by helping rescue Daphne I began to build alliances with both him and the Greengrass family. And make no mistake, that will be very important once Potter beats the Dark Lord. And that's where you come in. If you live through this war and remain head of the Malfoy family the victors will take everything from us as punishment for what you did. But, on the other hand, if you're dead and the new head of the Malfoy family just happens to be a friend of the savior of the wizarding world... well then, I would imagine that no one will hold the family responsible for your actions."

Lucius looked up at his son in shock. It was impossible for him to argue with the logic of Draco's plan, although it did rely on the assumption that Harry Potter could defeat Lord Voldemort. Lucius, of course, did not believe that would ever happen.

"They'll never accept you, Draco." Lucius warned. "Not even after all this."

"You know I couldn't help but notice how attractive Astoria Greengrass is." Draco commented. "Can you imagine what people would say if Potter stayed with Daphne and I ended up with Astoria? Potter and I, brothers! Have you ever heard anything so unlikely? Well, that's just an idle thought for now."

"Your plans will crumble around you." Lucius predicted. "The filth you have chosen to ally yourself with will never trust you. They will turn on you and destroy you the first chance they get!"

"They're not filth, father. They're my friends." Draco replied with a smile. "Reducto!"

Draco's spell hit the pole his father had been hanging on to and that entire section of roof seemed to disappear in cloud of dust and splinters. Lucius Malfoy screamed as he fell the entire way to the ground. The screams ended abruptly when he smashed into the ground seconds later. Draco watched him fall and when he saw the impact knew his father was dead. With his mission accomplished, Draco walked out of the astronomy tower and headed back to the Slytherin dorms to wait for the end of the battle with the rest of the students.

* * *

Far too much time was passing, Harry knew, and although they were making progress it was not coming fast enough. He needed to do something that would change the tide of the battle once and for all. Finally the idea he had been waiting for came to him. It would be dangerous, but worth it if it worked.

"Hey!" Harry yelled, trying to catch the attention of those around him. "Don't fire in anywhere in front of where I am now!"

The others looked confused but nodded anyway and slowly changed where they were shooting their spells. Harry silently cast the invisibility spell Dumbledore had taught him on the very first day of their training together on himself, took one last deep breath, and jumped over the wall. He knew that he couldn't use a shield spell or it would give away his location, and even though there shouldn't be any spells heading towards him from the rear the Death Eaters were still shooting spells in his direction. His only option was to dodge the spells as the came his way, but with so many wizards fighting at the same time that was a very difficult prospect.

Harry began his sprint to the other side and at first was able to quite easily avoid the spells coming at him, but as he neared the other side the amount of time he had to recognize that a spell had been fired and to react to it continued to get shorter and shorter. He was forced to rely more and more on his ability to sense magical presences around him that he had worked on with Professor Shacklebolt for so long. By the time he was only a few feet from the other side Harry was reacting to spells almost before they even left their caster's wand by jumping and diving and ducking everything that came his way. At last he reached the wall constructed by the dark wizards and leapt over it and through an empty gap between to wizards he didn't recognize. Harry kept going to position himself behind them and at last was ready.

Deadly blasts of magic began streaming out of his wand as Harry cast as quickly as he could. A dozen wizards had been hit before the rest even realized they were under attack. In a moment all focus had turned towards Harry who was now visible, having ended the invisibility spell so he could launch his attack. Dozens of spells began flying his way and Harry was forced to begin defending himself with a variety of powerful shield and conjured barriers, but the move provided just the distraction the castle's defenders needed to press their own attack. The dark wizards found themselves trapped in the middle of two attacks and in a panic they began abandoning their positions and trying to flee the battlefield. The Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix gave chase, not wanting to give them the chance to regroup and launch a counter attack.

The scene was once again chaotic, but Harry knew that the tide of the battle had changed and the side of light now was winning. But it had taken far too long, he knew, and there was no telling how lose Voldemort was to starting the ritual. Harry towards the Quidditch pitch as fast as he could but as he neared it found something he was not expecting: Voldemort had erected some type of magical dome around himself to prevent anyone from interfering. Harry fired off some of his most powerful spells at it and while it did appear to weaken somewhat it did not break. It would take time to bring down the barrier, Harry realized, time he did not have to waste.

Inside the barrier saw Harry's attempts to reach him and laughed, the potion he was working on was almost done and after that there was nothing Harry could do to stop him. Only a few more steps were needed and then he could begin the ritual that would grant him greater power and anything the world had ever seen before.

Harry continued to blast the barrier with all of his strength but worried it wasn't falling fast enough. Then cracks began to appear in the magical shield and Harry knew he was close to breaking through. But Voldemort was just as close to finishing the potion. He had read the journal enough to know that Voldemort had very few steps left to complete.

Voldemort was shocked at how much damage Harry had been able to do to his barrier. In truth he didn't believe anyone but him could single-handedly destroy it in less than a half hour or so, and yet here again was the Boy-Who-Lived surprising him. Voldemort sneered at his enemy as he lifted his hand over the cauldron and took the ceremonial knife into the other. Potter's strength wasn't enough, with this addition the potion would be complete and he could begin the ritual. Voldemort sliced his palm open and blood began to drip into the cauldron. As it hit the potion the liquid began to turn red, bubble over the edges, and shoot sparks into the air. The potion then began shooting out of the cauldron like a fountain, causing Voldemort to smile in triumph. It was done, now it was time for the ritual to begin.

Harry screamed in horror when he saw the fountain of blood red liquid appear, knowing just as well as Voldemort that the point of no return had been reached. With one last massive blast Harry attacked the barrier with all his strength and this time it finally shattered and fell. With the last obstacle out of his way Harry ran towards Voldemort and sent a blasting curse at the cauldron, hoping he was in time to disrupt the ritual before it could start. But the spell seemed to just bounce harmlessly off of the cauldron and Harry saw that the potion had begun to spin like some sort of liquid tornado.

Voldemort's evil laugh could be heard by everyone in Hogwarts and all who heard it knew it could not be a good sign.

"NO!" Harry screamed, but it was no use. He was too late. Voldemort had begun the ritual and now only he could stop it.

* * *

Author's Note: I've known what Draco was going to do for a while, and even now I can't decide whether I think he is good or evil. Somewhere in the middle perhaps. What do you guys think?


	51. Chapter 51

Professor Dumbledore, with Hermione following right behind him, had climbed to the tallest tower in the castle and out on to a balcony from which point they could see everything going on around them. The battle was still raging on and though it looked like their side was winning neither of them felt particularly confident that victory was assured. There was still much to deal with, including the three angry dragons that were attacking Hogwarts. Thankfully none of the dorms were immediately vulnerable but that would not be the case for long. The dragons had ripped off pieces of the roof and set fire to it in other places. Large sections of the roof were now on fire.

"Do you have something that can fight them?" Dumbledore asked as he began casting Aguamenti, sending huge amounts of water out of his wand and onto the roof where it could extinguish the fires.

"I might." Hermione replied. "I just hope the solution isn't as destructive as the problem..."

"Yes, we will hope." Dumbledore agreed. "Do it."

Hermione nodded and began the summoning process. The bracelets on her wrists glowed as she moved her arms in the elaborate dance she had done many times before. Soon a portal began to appear in front of her and as it flattened out it rose higher and higher into the sky. Finally the large portal stabilized and for a few seconds nothing happened, but then a monstrous roar came thundering out of it followed by a winged beast about the same size as the dragons.

When Dumbledore first saw the creature he thought that Hermione had simply summoned another dragon to combat the ones they were facing, but as it unfurled its wings and began to fly he realized this was no dragon. To begin with the color was all wrong: its large scales shined like pieces of bluish-grey metal. Furthermore its torso was shaped almost like a man's, except of course for the giant wings sprouting out the back. The beasts blood red eyes began to scan around for its target and soon landed on a Chinese Fireball attempting to rip a hole through the part of the roof over the Great Hall. The creature swooped in towards the dragon the two huge beasts began to fight on top of the roof. They each used their claws, teeth, and tails to attack the other but it appeared that the dragon was at a disadvantage because it could not as easily break through the summoned creature's hide. Their rooftop fight soon took to the skies as the dragon attempted to put some distance between them, but Hermione's creature was in no mood to allow that and followed the dragon to continue the fight.

"Hermione, what is that thing?" Dumbledore asked in amazement.

"I'm not sure exactly." Hermione replied. "But I do know you won't normally find them on Earth."

The dragon once again broke free and flew off, but its goal was clearly not to escape. The Chinese Fireball turned and attacked the other dragon-like creature with a jet of fire out of its mouth. Hermione's creature was forced to turn and shield itself from the flames, but once they ended roared in anger and began its own attack. However it was not flames that left this creature's mouth but instead a large beam of light that smashed into the dragon and knocked it out of the air. It crashed down on the ground below, in the process crushing a few dozen inferii, before giving up the fight and flying away. The summoned beast then turned its attention towards another of the dragons and began its attack.

"I don't think he can beat both of those dragons, Professor." Hermione said. "The fight with that other dragon seems to have taken a lot out of him."

"Then it is up to me to assist." Dumbledore noted. With all of the roof fires out Dumbledore could now focus on driving the dragons off. Hermione wasn't sure what spells the Headmaster was using but they did seem to be effective in annoying the giant dragon. After less than a minute of Dumbledore's constant attack the dragon had been blinded and forced to the ground with one of its wings seemingly injured beyond repair. Even so the enraged dragon was not ready to concede defeat and began attacking the castle walls on foot, much to the displeasure of the wizards on both sides who were still fighting there.

"My place is once again on the battlefield, Ms Granger." Dumbledore noted. "Continue the attack. Oh and Ms Granger... ten points to Gryffindor. Very well done."

"Thank you, Professor." Hermione replied, laughing at the inappropriate timing of the Headmaster's statement. Dumbledore left the tower and headed back down to the castle walls. He knew that Voldemort must be getting close to starting the ritual if he had not already, and if that happened their only choice would be to evacuate the castle as quickly as possible. The portkeys, which would take the students far enough away from the castle to avoid the explosion, had already been created. All that was left was for him to lower the wards preventing apparition or portkey use and give the order for the evacuation to begin. Dumbledore hoped it did not come to that, but the safety of his students was his top priority.

* * *

"I wouldn't take another step, Potter." Voldemort warned. "Do you have any idea what will happen if I don't complete the ritual now?"

"An explosion." Harry replied. "One big enough to destroy everything for miles."

"You've done your homework, I see." Voldemort noted. "You are correct. Stop me now and Hogwarts will be nothing more than a memory, along with all your friends inside. Do you really want thousands upon thousands of deaths on your conscience?"

Harry walked closer to Voldemort anyway. Although both of them had their wands out, neither was pointed towards the other. Harry could feel the power building in the air around him as the magic of the ritual began to gather the strength it would need to open the portal. It was oddly fascinating to watch, Harry thought, although perhaps deadlier than anything he had ever seen.

"You can still stop this." Harry said. "It doesn't have to end this way."

"And why exactly would I want to do that?" Voldemort asked. "Let me guess, if I don't stop it you'll kill me? You're a deluded fool if you think that you have anywhere near the power or skill necessary to match mine. Believe me, I know you are going to try and kill me no matter what. That is our destiny after all, isn't it?"

"If you know that much you should remember something else." Harry replied. "That I have the power to vanquish you, a power you know not."

"We're at the end now, Potter." Voldemort observed. "Why don't you just go ahead and tell me what this power I know not is?"

"Stop the ritual." Harry suggested. "Then I'll tell you."

"Oh I think not." Voldemort replied. "There is nothing you could offer me that would be worth stopping this for. Soon either Hogwarts will be destroyed or I will have the power to rule this world forever. Either way, you will be dead."

"You're wrong about one thing, Riddle." Harry smirked. "You won't live forever. I've destroyed every single one of your Horcruxes. The diary, the ring, the locket, the cup, the diadem, the snake, and even the one you didn't realize you had made hidden inside my scar. You are mortal now."

"You are most troublesome, Harry Potter." Voldemort said angrily. "But there are, of course, other ways to achieve immortality. Trust me, I will find a way to live on. So, seeing as how convincing me to stop is impossible, what is your next move? Do you let the end come? Do you run? Do you challenge me and either die trying or succeed and cause everyone and everything you've ever loved to be destroyed? Truly horrific options, wouldn't you agree?"

Harry clenched his wand in his hand and felt the anger and rage rising inside him. Voldemort was taunting him and Harry realized his choices weren't good. He had hoped this moment would not come, but it had. He and Dumbledore had discussed what would be done if this should happen and so Harry knew what he must do. He would fight Voldemort and disrupt the ritual, allowing it to fail and Hogwarts to be destroyed. Meanwhile Dumbledore would lead the evacuation of the castle while Harry kept Voldemort from fleeing, ensuring that he died in the explosion. He, of course, would also probably die but it was worth it if it took Voldemort out of the world forever.

"I'm going to kill you, Tom Riddle." Harry announced. "Hogwarts will burn, but you will be dead. Some will die, but many will be saved."

"Very well then, Potter." Voldemort said as he stepped away from the cauldron and raised his wand at his opponent. "Let's see if you truly have a power I know not."

Harry and Voldemort circled each other for a moment, both waiting to see what the other did. Then, in a flash, they both launched their attacks and began their final battle.

* * *

"Neville! Harry's fighting Voldemort!" Daphne yelled as she pointed to the model of Hogwarts, much like the one found in Dumbledore's office, the Room of Requirement had provided. It showed the movements of everyone outside the castle and had just registered massive power surges between Harry and Voldemort. She knew this could only mean one thing.

"Daphne, I know you want to be there." Neville said. "But what possible help can you be?

"I can't just sit here, Neville!" Daphne replied. "Harry is down there fight for his life and for all of us. The least I can do is go down there and cheer him on. I know it's silly, but I have to be there."

"Ok." Neville shrugged. "I'm going to stay here and monitor things. Be careful, Daphne."

"I will." Daphne assured him before giving her friend one last hug and running out the door. The Marauder's Map was spread out on another table, giving them a view of what was happening inside the castle. The marker with Daphne's name on it was already headed down the stairs to the sixth floor. Neville wished her luck again before returning his focus to the rest of the battle.

In another part of the castle Ron Weasley was trying not to be noticed. The fact that Fred and George, Hermione, Neville, and Harry had never come back to the common room had not escaped him. It was clear that the castle was under attack and for some reason they were a part of it. Ron had no real desire to fight, but he did want to figure out what was going on. The sound of footsteps in the corridor ahead made him freeze. It was just Filch, he saw, running upstairs for some reason. Once Filch was out of sight Ron continued on and decided to head downstairs and away from Filch who would just try to send him back to the common room.

This part of the castle was oddly quiet, he thought. And somehow creepy as well. Ron pulled his wand out of his pocket and nervously continued on. For some reason he had a very bad feeling turning the next corner, but even so he continued on. As he neared the end of the hall a girl's scream echoed down the hall, loud and very close.

Daphne had not been paying close enough attention she realized too late. She had been running through the empty halls on her way downstairs, barely watching where she was going, when all of the sudden a dark shape the size of a dog had appeared in front of her and before she could slow down she had tripped over it and fallen to the ground. She hit hard before rolling to a stop after hitting the wall. She lay on the ground for a moment, making sure she was ok, before attempting to get back up. That was when something heavy jumped on her back and forced her back to the ground. She rolled hard and threw it off before scrambling away from it. It was then that she saw the thing that had attacked her was giant spider, and it was not alone. In all there were a half dozen acromantulas positioned around her. Daphne screamed as she pushed herself back up on her feet and the acromantulas closed in on her.

When Ron rounded the corner he almost screamed, too. There was nothing in the world he feared more than spiders, in fact that was the form boggarts took around him. He had seen spiders like these years before when he and Harry had been in the Forbidden Forest. The scream he had heard came from Daphne Greengrass, he saw, who was now fumbling for her wand to defend herself.

"Stupefy!" Ron yelled. His stunning spell hit one of the spiders and seemed to make it dizzy, but did not knock it out as he had expected. Its most obvious effect, however, was that the large spiders' attention was now focused on him. "A little help?"

"Reducto!" Daphne said. Her spell blasted one of the acromantulas apart and Ron, seeing the spell's effects, began copying her. Soon all six of the acromantulas were dead and both Ron and Daphne were safe again.

"I HATE spiders." Ron said, still shaking from the encounter. "I really do."

"Thanks Ron." Daphne said. "Really, I appreciate the help. You should get back to your dorm."

"Where are you going?" Ron asked, knowing that her answer would not be to the Slytherin dorms.

"Harry's fighting Voldemort." Daphne replied. "I need to be there."

"Oh. He'll be fine, you know. Harry's fought You-Know-Who loads of times and always makes it through." Ron said. "Why should this be any different?"

"I hope so." Daphne said before turning and continuing her trek through the castle. As she was about to take the next flight of stairs she heard Ron calling out to her again.

"Hey Daphne!" Ron began. "I never should have bothered Harry about being with you. You're good for him. A better friend than I ever was."

"You're not so bad, Ron." Daphne smiled. "I bet you things will work out ok in the end."

Ron nodded and watched as Daphne ran down the stairs and out of view. He stood still for a moment, unsure of what he should do, before deciding that if Harry was fighting Voldemort than he should watch. But not from too close. A classroom with a window overlooking the fight would be close enough. Ron carefully began making his way through the hallway and prayed he wouldn't see any more spiders.

* * *

As Dumbledore stepped out onto the castle walls, ready to rejoin the fight, he saw that the thing he had feared the most had come to pass. Voldemort had indeed begun the ritual. The battle between his forces and Voldemort's was quickly coming to an end, with the Aurors and Order of the Phoenix emerging as the victor, but Voldemort had never really cared about that battle or any of the people fighting and dying in it. To him it was a success because it provided him the time he needed and that was all that ever mattered.

Dumbledore looked out over the battlefield at his allies who were still fighting, most probably believing they had just achieved the most significant victory of the war. Unlike the students, they would have to stay behind in case Harry failed and Voldemort completed the ritual. For them, he feared, the most dangerous part of the day was still ahead.

Dumbledore turned and walked back in the castle on his way to the closest dorm which happened to be Ravenclaw. As he walked through the halls he hoped it would not be the last time he had this chance but feared it would be. If Hogwarts fell a thousand years of history and knowledge would be lost forever. Magical Britain, which had sent its sons and daughters here for a millennium, would never be the same. Hogwarts was the only home Dumbledore had known for decades and he wished there was something more that could be done, but they had searched for some way out of this situation and found nothing. There was nothing left to do but get the students out and hope for the best.

When he got to the door to the Ravenclaw dorm it opened automatically and he stepped in to see dozens of frightened students huddled together in the common room. They clearly were aware that a battle was being fought just outside and were justifiably worried that they were in danger. Gasps of shock followed by cheers erupted in the room when they realized that the Headmaster, long thought terribly ill or even dead, was alive and well and there to help them.

"Professor!" one student yelled. "What's going on?"

"Voldemort has attacked." he answered honestly. "Even now he and his men are doing battle with Aurors from the Ministry and your teachers. Now, everyone gather round."

The Ravenclaws obeyed his command and began huddling around him. Dumbledore smiled warmly at them, hoping to lessen their fears somewhat, before reaching out with his magic and lowering the anti-portkey and apparition wards around the school. It was only then that he realized something was very wrong. As soon as the Hogwarts wards fell a new set of wards was raised and on these Voldemort's dark magical signature was easily identifiable. As long as Voldemort lived there would be no escape from Hogwarts. There was simply not enough time to evacuate the castle in another way and with a battle still raging outside it was not safe for them there. Their best option was to wait and hope that Harry was able to kill Voldemort before the ritual failed and destroyed Hogwarts.

The Ravenclaws were still waiting for him to say something, Dumbledore realized. Comforting them was perhaps the only useful thing he could do right now.

"Let me tell you something children, there's no need to fear." Dumbledore began. "The best witches and wizards in the world are here fighting to protect you. And I will be here to ensure your safety as well..."

* * *

As their fight continued Voldemort was forced to admit to himself that he had vastly underestimated Harry Potter. He had no idea what this 'power he knew not' could be but it would take a fool to not see that Harry Potter was a powerful and talented wizard. With a couple of more years training, Voldemort thought, Potter might even be comparable to himself. That, of course, could not be allowed to happen. It was a shame that there was no hope of ever convincing Potter to join him; together they could conquer to world much quicker than it would take him to do it alone. But Potter had to die now before he could grow into an even bigger threat to his hold on power than he was.

Potter's weakness, as far as Voldemort was concerned, was his unwillingness to embrace the dark arts as he had. Today, Potter would die because of that failure. Neither combatant had landed any strong blows in the battle thus far but that was about to change.

"It's a pity there is so much about magic you'll never learn, Potter." Voldemort laughed. "Like this."

The spell Voldemort cast created a bright flash of light that caused Harry to momentarily look away and shield his eyes. When he turned back a moment later he was surprised to see Voldemort had made copies of himself and now there were three of them. It struck him as odd that Voldemort would boast of creating illusions, which was not considered a dark art or extremely advanced magic. The three Voldemort began spreading out and encircling Harry while he waited for one of them to cast a spell, revealing himself as the true Voldemort.

Suddenly the Voldemort on his left sent flesh eating curse at his head which Harry quickly shielded against. Harry smiled and turned his focus to that Voldemort, ignoring the others. But just moments after his attack began Harry sensed two spells flying at his back, cast by the versions of Voldemort he had thought were just illusions. Not having time to raise a shield, Harry threw himself to the ground and the spells flew harmlessly over him. By the time he scrambled back to his feet he could hear all three Voldemort's laughing at him at the same time, and when he spoke it came out of all three mouths.

"This is no mere illusion, Potter." Voldemort said mockingly. "This is power that old fool Dumbledore would never teach."

Harry's eyes darted back and forth, waiting for the next attack. Voldemort was right about one thing, he had never heard of a spell like this. But he did know a few things about the magical principles the spell must adhere to, and one of those was that it was impossible for Voldemort to split himself into three pieces and have each piece be as powerful as the original. Additionally he still only had one brain to control three bodies, meaning his reaction times would probably be slower.

Harry started running at one of the Voldemorts, trying to get close to him and away from the others. All three began firing spells at him, but just as Harry thought none of them were as good as Voldemort by himself was. Certainly still good enough to take out most wizards without a problem, but then again Harry was not most wizards. When he was within mere feet of Voldemort his magical senses let him know that there were two spells headed right at him but again he was able to duck underneath them. This time though they did not fly harmlessly over him, instead they both hit the version of Voldemort Harry had been running towards, causing him to vanish in a puff of smoke. Harry turned back to face the two remaining Voldemorts and saw that they wore identical angry looks on their faces.

"Neat trick, Riddle." said Harry. "What else have you got?"

The two Voldemorts walked towards each other and fused into one as the touched, leaving only one Dark Lord standing in their place. Voldmort knew that the ritual was still building power and it would be at least another ten or fifteen minutes until he needed to activate it, meaning he still had plenty of time to kill Potter. Voldemort didn't reply to Harry's question, he simply began his next attack. Dark smoke began coming out of the end of Voldemort's wand and for a few seconds it did nothing, but then when there was enough smoke it began forming into a shape. Predictably, the smoke became a snake and began slithering through the air towards Harry.

Harry sent a fire spell through the snake, hoping that would get rid of it, but the spell passed harmlessly through it. He kept trying but nothing he did seemed to work and every second the snake was getting closer to him. He could see Voldemort watching and laughing as he struggled to figure out what to do. When the snake finally reached him it began curling around him, but even so Harry couldn't feel it and began to wonder if it was nothing more than a distraction. Then the smoke began to solidify and constrict around his body, pinning his arms to his side and crushing the air out of him.

"How's that, Potter?" Voldemort asked. "You were a fool to challenge me now; this might have been close in a decade or two."

Harry struggled against his bonds but they held tight. He could still use his wand but none of the spells he used against this piece of dark magic seemed to be having any effect. He looked up to see Voldemort laughing at with his wand pointed in his direction. A moment later a dark red spell was heading towards him and Harry knew that he could not let it hit him or all hope would be lost. Using his wand Harry triggered a blast at his feet that sent him flying through the air and out of the path of the spell. It was a drastic and painful move, but he was still alive so it was worth it. Now, however, he had been knocked to the ground and still couldn't move.

"You can't keep that up forever!" Voldemort taunted. "Perhaps I was wrong to expect more from you."

Harry turned his head to try and look at his foe, but in his current position he couldn't see where Voldemort was. He could, however, hear his footsteps getting closer and closer. Harry kept struggling and was able to roll slightly; from here he could see not only Voldemort but the castle behind him. And there, on the castle walls watching him was Daphne.

'No!' he thought desperately. Daphne was supposed to have left by now, as were all of the Hogwarts students. But instead she had chosen to stay with him until the end; just like he would have done for her if their situations were reversed. Harry had to do something, he knew, if he wanted her to survive. But before he could save her, he had to save himself. An idea finally came to him, a dangerous one to be sure, but this was no time to play it safe.

Harry began focus on gathering his magical power as if preparing to case a very difficult spell; this had been something Kingsley had worked with him on for a long time. He kept focusing his power but never provided it with an outlet, causing it to grow unstable. Voldemort sensed what was happening and stopped, curious at what his opponent was doing. From his point of view it almost seemed as if Harry was trying to blow himself up. Finally, when Harry could stand the stress of the technique no more, Harry completely let go and the magic blasted out of every pore in his body all at once in an explosion strong enough to even knock Voldemort back a few steps. But when the dust cleared Harry was still alive and now free of Voldemort's magical bonds. His body was covered in blood and scratches, an unavoidable result, and his clothes hung off his body in tatters but even so Harry was pleased with the outcome.

Harry knew his only option was to keep up the attack and hope something worked. With a wave of his wand a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck right in front of Voldemort. Frustrated he had missed Harry summoned another and another until Voldemort was forced to raise a shield over his head to protect himself. In an instant Harry changed his strategy and fired a spell right at Voldemort which hit him in the chest and exploded in a shower of sparks and fire. Voldemort roared in anger and Harry knew he had finally hurt the Dark Lord.

Voldemort responded with a flame whip strike that Harry narrowly avoided by jumping to the side and casting his own spell which turned the ground at Voldemort's feet into quicksand, limiting his movement. Voldemort attempted to vanish the quicksand, a move Harry knew would not work. This gave him the chance to attack again, this time with the electricity curse he had learned from Moody over the summer. Even though Harry was putting all of his power into it the Dark Lord made no sound and simply solidified the sand around his feet and exploded it, finally freeing him. Now free to attack, Voldemort seemed to breathe a giant ball of fire that surrounded Harry before imploding on itself. Harry was able to cast a flame freezing charm on himself and only suffered mild burns from the move, but the move had distracted him enough to leave him open to a blasting curse which sent him flying backwards and tumbling across the Quidditch pitch.

As Harry slowly pushed himself to his feet he used his free hand to wipe his face of the blood and sweat that covered it. He knew that he must look like a complete mess but his magic and the adrenaline was keeping him on his feet and still fighting. Thankfully Voldemort didn't look much better. His robes too had mostly been burnt and blasted away during the fight and he was bleeding in several places.

Suddenly Harry froze and his jaw dropped open in surprise. He looked at his hand, covered in blood. Then to Voldemort's chest and shoulder, also covered in blood. Behind him the whirlwind in the cauldron continued to swirl as more and more power was built up in preparation for the ritual. Harry raised his wand and smiled as a renewed sense of hope was born within him. His change in attitude was so drastic that even Voldemort noticed it.

"Happy, are you Potter?" Voldemort laughed. "Ready to accept your death then?"

"No. I'm going to kill you and save Hogwarts." Harry replied. "And in way, it's all thanks to you."

"What are you talking about?" Voldemort demanded to know.

"You used your blood in the ritual, that's how it knows you are the one performing it." Harry explained. "But you must have forgotten that you used my blood to resurrect yourself. It's MY blood flowing through your veins, and my blood controlling the ritual. So it turns out that you aren't the only one who can stop it. I can, too."

Voldemort growled as he processed what Harry was telling him, angry when he was forced to agree with Harry's interpretation of the situation. Either of them could seize control of the ritual and open the portal or shut it down completely. His mistake had put all his plans and hard work in jeopardy.

"All you are going to do is die!" Voldemort yelled as he launched another attack and the battle between them continued.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks to all of you who suggested ways for Harry to get out of this situation, but believe me I had it figured out before I posted the last chapter. Almost to the end now!


	52. Chapter 52

As the battle between the Death Eater with their foreign allies and the Order of the Phoenix aided by Aurors from the Ministry of Magic drew to a close those left on the battlefield could not help but turn their attention to the epic duel that was going on nearby between the Dark Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter. Despite the Daily Prophet's insistence that Harry Potter could and would defeat You-Know-Who very few people thought that prediction could possibly come true in the near future. And yet there Harry Potter was, a young man only fifteen years old, going toe to toe with the most powerful dark wizard in recorded history and actually doing well.

Everyone nearby could feel the powerful magic pulsing through the air, due not just to the ritual but to Voldemort and Harry as well. The skies had ominously become covered in dark clouds, blocking out the sun on what would have otherwise been a bright winter day. On the Quidditch pitch the two foes continued to assault each other with magic far more powerful than the others on the battlefield could ever hope to wield. The spectators stood in awe as spells quickly passed between the two and the ground shook with their power. At one point a massive tree, probably hundreds of years old, came to life and seemed to run towards Lord Voldemort but was then consumed by a blast of fiend fire. Hurricane force winds and rain suddenly appeared over them as Harry Potter attempted to extinguish the fire. When he was finally able to the wind and rain disappeared as quickly as it had come.

No one dared try to join the battle because they knew that they would only get in the way, and likely die because of it. The future of the wizarding world was being decided right in front of them, and yet there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.

Inside the castle Professor Dumbledore had decided to move all of the students from their dorms into the Great Hall so that, if necessary, he could begin portkeying them out at once. Food and drinks were served by nervous house elves, but nearly everyone was too concerned about what was going on outside to have much of an appetite.

Word had quickly spread that Harry Potter and You-Know-Who were fighting on the Quidditch pitch and although they could not see it from the Great Hall they could hear the occasional booms of some powerful new spell being used and feel the ground tremble at its strength. The students dealt with this tense situation in a variety of ways. Some cried while their classmates attempted to comfort them, others tried pretending that nothing out of the ordinary was going on, and a few foolish young men boasted about how they wished they were out there too. In the end they were forced to sit and wait for the end of the battle to come and for their fates to be decided.

* * *

The fight between Harry and Voldemort raged on, but both knew that there was very little time left until the power built up by the ritual must be released. Although they were both putting all of the power they had into their spells neither was able to seize the upper hand, they were truly evenly matched.

The ground at Harry's feet exploded in a massive wave of power that he was only just barely able to shield against. Even so the blast knocked him to the ground and gave Voldemort a few seconds to start a more powerful spell. As soon as Harry saw Voldemort's movements he knew that the Dark Lord was casting the meteor spell he had used just months ago, and as predicted he saw the first one appear in the sky on its way towards him.

Knowing that the spell wouldn't be nearly as effective if Voldemort couldn't aim, Harry thought he knew a way to slow Voldemort down. He began running away from where he was standing in order to avoid the massive flaming rock headed towards him, but as he did he fired a spell just over Voldemort's head. Voldemort, thinking Harry has simply missed, made no effort to shield against it and glanced at it in an attempt to determine what it had been. Just as his eyes focused on the bright yellow spell it suddenly became far brighter than anything he had ever seen before. The painful light temporarily blinded him and gave Harry the chance to recover and attack again.

Voldemort sensed the spell coming towards him even though he could not see it and reacted purely on instinct. He raised his hand and wandlessly cast the strongest shield he could manage, but even as he did he knew it would not be enough considering his wandless shields had never been as strong as those cast with a wand. Harry's spell burned through the shield and completely destroyed Voldemort's hand and wrist, leaving only a bloody stump behind. The Dark Lord howled in pain before attacking his enemy again.

Still blinded, Voldemort's aim was ruined and he was only able to guess the general area that Harry was in. He, of course, knew this and chose a spell that did not need to be extremely accurate. A strange black sphere leapt from the end of Voldemort's wand and suddenly came to a stop mere feet from where Harry was standing. At first it did nothing, but then Harry began to feel an odd pull as if everything was being sucked towards the growing black sphere.

As the seconds passed the force became stronger and stronger. Harry could see that the grass underneath the sphere had begun to be pulled out of the ground and into the darkness. It reminded him of a TV show he had once seen Dudley watching in which a space ship was pulled into a black hole, only this one was much smaller. Harry could feel himself losing his footing and being pulled towards the spell but nothing he did was able to dampen the spells power. It quickly became clear to him that if he couldn't stop the spell itself then stopping its caster might be his best option, but he would need something strong enough to resist the pull of this dark spell. Only one spell came to mind Harry cast it, hoping it would work.

"Expecto Patronum!" he yelled and the ghostly stag leapt from his wand and began charging at Voldemort, unaffected by the influence of Voldemort's spell. When the Dark Lord saw Harry's spell he almost laughed, thinking that even though he might be evil he wasn't a Dementor so what could a Patronus do to him? He was very surprised therefore when then stag rammed him in the stomach and knocked him to the ground before attempting to gore him. Harry's Patronus was, of course, far more powerful than a normal one and capable of things others were not.

Voldemort was forced to end the black hole spell to deal with the enraged Patronus. Slowly the stag was surrounded by a dark, oily substance that began to form a sphere around it. When it was completely covered the sphere imploded and vanished from existence, taking the Patronus with it. With his focus on that, Voldemort momentarily took his eyes off of Harry and allowed his rival to position himself for another attack.

When Voldemort looked back in Harry's direction he saw a flat, swirling disk of energy approaching him. The Dark Lord quickly conjured a stone wall to block it but the disk sliced cleanly through it and continued its path toward him. Voldemort was forced to throw himself to the ground in order to avoid the attack, a tactic he hated because he thought it showed weakness.

"Damn you, Potter." Voldemort said as he stood back up. In his anger he began gathering his magical power for one last deadly blast that, he hoped, would be enough to wipe Harry Potter off of the face of the Earth. As he readied his wand to cast the spell Voldemort saw that Potter was smiling and immediately knew something was wrong.

The glowing magical disk had been completely under Harry's control the entire time and had not simply flown off into the distance as Voldemort believed. Second after passing Voldemort it began to slow before completely changing directions and heading right back to its previous target who was now completely unaware.

Voldemort hurriedly raised the strongest shield he could manage, but it was not strong enough to stop Harry's attack. The magical disk struck him in both legs above the knees and completely severed them from the rest of his body. Screaming in shock and pain, what was left of Voldemort fell to the ground. He grabbed for his legs, hoping he could reattach them and continue the fight, only to see them burst in to flames and turn into two piles of ash.

"No!" he screamed as he looked back to Harry, who had cast the spell. "This isn't over!"

"It is, Riddle." Harry disagreed. "You've barely got the strength to keep yourself alive any more, and certainly not enough to be a challenge to me. Your reign of terror is over."

"It will never be over!" Voldemort protested. "I am immortal!"

"This is for my parents, and for Remus, and for everyone else you've hurt." Harry said, raising his wand at the defeated Dark Lord. The tip of his wand glowed bright white for a moment and then it flashed and a beam of pure magical energy leapt from his wand and struck Lord Voldemort in the chest. He screamed in pain and terror, but then the blast cut a hole straight through his torso and the Dark Lord fell silent and still. Voldemort had finally been defeated.

Immediately Harry heard cheers break out all around him. He looked away from Voldemort's corpse to see dozens of Aurors, professors, and members of the Order of the Phoenix celebrating the death of Voldemort. With the battle over they began running towards Harry to congratulate him.

"STOP!" Harry yelled with such power and authority that no one dared disobey him. Voldemort may be finished, he knew, but the danger was not over yet. He looked towards the cauldron where Voldemort had performed the ritual and saw that it was now covered in a dark red glow signifying it had finally reached full power. Harry raced towards it, knowing there was very little time to stop a portal from opening or the whole thing from exploding.

As Harry neared the cauldron he could feel the incredible amount of magical power at his fingertips, awaiting his command. With his blood fueling the ritual the power seemed to recognize him and was his to use. The journal they had read did not have clear instructions on how to end the ritual and so Harry was forced to simply do what he thought would work. With all of his concentration Harry attempted to force the power to disperse, but that seemed to be one of the few things it was not willing to do.

With his time running short, Harry did the only thing he could think to do: he forced the power into his own body in the hopes that there it would diffuse or take only his life if it exploded. Harry fell to his knees in agony as the magic assaulted his body looking for some way to escape. Even so he was sure his decision was the correct one because he knew the pain he was feeling indicated the power was being released over time and not all at once, he just hoped the process wouldn't kill him. The pain this created was far worse than the Cruciatus curse ever could be, Harry thought as he struggled to end the ritual safely. Even inside the castle, the students in the Great Hall could clearly hear his screams.

The sight of Harry in so much pain caused Daphne to climb down from the castle walls and rush towards him in the hopes that she could do something to make it stop, but as she got closer to him an unseen force prevented her from getting any closer. Tears streamed down her eyes as she was forced to watch the man she loved endure pain so excruciating she did not even want to attempt to imagine what it must be like.

Suddenly Daphne was knocked off her feet by the force of an explosion coming from where Harry was. She scrambled back to her feet and found that the force which had been keeping her away from Harry was now gone. As she ran towards the spot where she had last seen him worries about whether or not he would still be alive flooded her mind. Finally she saw him, bloody and bruised but in one piece, lying unmoving on the ground. Daphne dropped to her knees next to him and began searching for some sign that he was still alive.

Harry's skin was cold to the touch and he seemed to be completely unresponsive, both signs that greatly worried her. Finally she placed her hand on his chest and was able to feel the gentle rise and fall of Harry breathing. Daphne sighed in relief, Harry was alive after all!

* * *

Inside the castle Dumbledore had felt the magical energy that had been gathering for the past hour suddenly disappear. Somehow, Harry had done it. Hogwarts, and all inside it, were safe and the portal Voldemort hoped to open had never materialized. Stretching out with his magical senses, Dumbledore attempted to check on Harry.

'There he is,' Dumbledore thought. 'Exhausted and in pain, but alive none the less.' The Headmaster then began to search for Voldemort's presence, but was unable to find any sign of it. Dumbledore frowned, immediately realizing that something was wrong. He couldn't find Voldemort, and yet the anti-apparition and portkey wards that the Dark Lord had cast and bound to his own life force were still functioning. It could only mean one thing...

Somehow, Voldemort was still alive.

* * *

His eyes slowly opened as he attempted to regain control of his senses and remaining limbs. Were he any normal mortal he would be dead, Voldemort knew, but he had not lied when he told his Death Eaters that he had gone farther down the path towards immortality than any other wizard. There were more ways than just Horcruxes to extend life. Even so he was weak and vulnerable, a situation that must be rectified. He found, much to his dismay, that he did not have the strength to apparate away.

Voldemort turned his head towards where he expected Potter to be and saw that somehow he had indeed been able to end the ritual without destroying Hogwarts. He growled angrily as he thought about all he had lost that day and vowed he would take everything from Potter that he could. And he knew just how to start.

The only whole limb Voldemort had was his right arm, but luckily for him that was also his wand arm. Using it he struggled to prop himself up so he could get a better view of the situation. Finally, after much effort, he was able to and saw that the irritating boy had been injured by the ritual and was still lying on the ground.

Daphne meanwhile continued to sob over Harry who had still not regained consciousness. She worried that the stress of what he had been through was more than he could handle and that he might not ever wake up.

"Potter!" Voldemort called, unaware that Harry was unconscious. "I told you this wasn't over!"

Daphne gasped in terror as she turned and saw Voldemort pulling himself towards her with his one good arm. Even in this state he was terrifying. His blood red eyes seemed to glow with his hatred of Harry. The Dark Lord's body however was a twisted and destroyed mess. It didn't seem possible that he could still be alive and yet somehow he was.

"Leave him alone!" Daphne yelled, pulling out her own wand and pointing it towards Voldemort.

"You're the girl he loves, aren't you? Good, that will make killing you so much better for me!" Voldemort laughed. "Avada Kedavra!"

Daphne was shocked that Voldemort still had the power to cast the spell, but he did as evidenced by the deadly green spell flying towards her. Before she could even react Daphne felt an arm circling her waist and pulling her to the ground. The killing curse missed by mere inches as she fell down on top of Harry who was now awake and smiling at her.

"Harry!" Daphne said happily. "You're alive!"

"Of course I am." Harry assured her. "Just one second, ok?"

Harry slowly pulled himself to his feet and faced Voldemort once again. The Dark Lord's body had been torn to pieces, and yet still the magic found a way to keep him going. Harry was surprised, but knew that Voldemort would do anything to avoid death. This was just evidence of something new he had tried.

"I thought I killed you." Harry said calmly. "I'll get it right this time."

"And I told you I am immortal." Voldemort sneered. "You will..."

Harry didn't give him a chance to finish his taunt, instead choosing to send a powerful cutting curse at Voldemort's neck which severed his head from the rest of his body. The head rolled to the ground and made strange gurgling noises before finally going quiet while his torso slumped to the ground. Voldemort's wand, which had caused so much pain and death over the years, rolled out of his hand and to Harry's feet. Harry picked it up and examined it before putting it in his pocket and looking back towards Daphne.

"It's finally over." Daphne said, walking up to stand next to Harry.

"Well... better safe than sorry, right?" Harry said before firing spell after destructive spell at what was left of Voldemort's head and body. By the time he was done there was nothing left that even resembled a human body part. Voldemort was finally gone forever.

With his foe vanquished Harry turned towards Daphne and kissed her before picking her up and twirling her around in circles as he celebrated the end of the war. After many years and countless deaths Voldemort was finally dead and gone. The wizarding world was once again safe.

As they celebrated their allies began rushing towards them and in the front of that group were Sirius Black and Daniel Greengrass. As they reached Harry and Daphne they both wrapped their arms around the young couple. Sirius could not help but laugh happily as he realized the war was finally over and he could live in peace once again. He had lost decades of his life to fighting and imprisonment because of this war, but now that was all behind him thanks to his extraordinary godson.

"Sirius!" Harry said happily, returning his godfather's hug. "Is everyone ok?"

"The Order only lost a few people as far as I know." Sirius replied. "Sturgis Podmore, Elphias Doge, and Mundungus Fletcher who was cursed in the back trying to run away. A couple others were injured, but nothing life threatening. The Aurors suffered pretty heavy losses, but everyone else is alive thanks to you."

"It wasn't just me." Harry said humbly. "I couldn't have done any of this without you guys helping me."

"You should be proud of yourself Harry." Daniel Greengrass said. "You've given our world something it has wanted for many years: peace and hope for a better future. Thank you, Harry."

"Harry!" an excited voice called out from the edge of the crowd. Harry and the others turned to see Hermione and Neville pushing their way past people on their way to Harry and Daphne. He couldn't help but smile at the fact that they were also holding hands. Ecstatic to see each other alive and well, the group hugged and congratulated each other.

"You did it, Harry!" Hermione gushed. "I knew you could!" Harry merely shrugged and grinned, thinking that honestly even he wasn't sure he could beat Voldemort.

"Harry..." Daphne said quietly from her spot next to him. "What happens now?"

"I have a feeling the Ministry will be chasing down what's left of the Death Eaters for years, but other than that the war should be over. Things can go back to normal." Harry replied. "I'm free, Daphne. There's no more prophecy hanging over my head, I can do whatever I want with my life. To be honest, I have no idea what's going to happen. And that's a great feeling. We can make the future whatever we want it to be."

"Together?" Daphne asked.

"Absolutely." Harry answered with a nod, hugging her a little tighter. "It got us this far, didn't it?"

They laughed and continued celebrating with all of the others. Victory parties broke out all over Great Britain as people realized the war which had consumed their world for decades had finally come to a close. Tomorrow the Obliviators would have the difficult task of cleaning up after the more enthusiastic celebrators, but for now their world cared for nothing more than enjoying their newfound freedom.

The party at Hogwarts was the largest of them all, no surprise considering that heroes of the war were all there eating, drinking, and generally having the time of their lives. And at the middle of it all was Harry, surrounded by friends and family, enjoying the best day of his life.

* * *

The celebrations continued in all parts of the castle, even in the Headmaster's office where Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape were sharing some of the finest firewhiskey in the world. Compared to what was going on elsewhere their celebration was quiet and subdued, even though they had been fighting in the war longer than almost anyone else. Their bottle of firewhiskey was nearly half empty, as they had been toasting various things for more than an hour.

"To you Severus." Dumbledore said with his glass raised. "And to the end of your life as a spy."

"Indeed." Snape agreed. "And to the fallen."

"It's over, old friend." Dumbledore said. "And yet I sense something still troubles you."

"It's Potter, of course." Snape replied. "No one so young has ever wielded so much power. And if your findings are correct there may be no limit to what he is capable of. At fifteen he is already more powerful than you or the Dark Lord, where will he be in five years? Yes Albus, that does make me nervous."

"He is a good man, Severus. And a good leader." Dumbledore reminded him. "With Harry around our world will be safe from threats like Tom Riddle."

"And how long will he be around?" Snape continued. "With what he will one day be capable of there is really no telling. Did you speak to him?"

"Yes, I did." Dumbledore nodded. "He said he is going to keep training and growing stronger, just in case the world is ever again in such danger." Dumbledore did not mention that as the new master of the Elder Wand Harry had access to even more power than his friend and colleague believed; best not to further upset the paranoid potions master.

"Of course he did." Snape replied. He then filled both of their glasses again and lifted his into the air. "Well, in that case, here's to Harry Potter. May he always be as good and just as he is now."

"To Harry." Dumbledore nodded before finishing his drink. "Believe me Severus, the only people with anything to fear are the evil ones that would threaten and harm others for their own gain. Woe unto them if they ever incur the wrath of Harry Potter."

**THE END**

* * *

Author's Note:

After over a year of writing and about 280,000 words the story is finally at an end. No, you don't get an ending that explicitly spells out everything that is going to happen to the characters for the rest of their lives. That's never been my style, but you do get enough to make your own conclusions about what will happen to them. Some have suggested a sequel, and while this certainly leaves that possibility open I don't know that I will ever attempt to write something this massive again. Additionally one of the hardest parts to write of this story was a battle between two superpowers that would come off as believable and a good representation of what they were capable of, and if it was hard to write battles for Harry now it will be even more difficult if we assume he gets even more powerful.

If you've still got questions about the story I will be around and happy to answer them. In fact I will probably post an addition to this story in a week or so addressing all the questions that are asked, so come up with some good ones!

Thank you all again for continuing with this story, your reviews and encouragement made it all worth it. You guys are the best and it has been my honor entertaining you.

Wishing you all the best,

Rocag


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